What Works for Women and Girls

Chapter 8.Meeting the Sexual and ReproductiveHealth Needs of Women Living withHIVGiven that most HIV transmission occurs through sexual intercourse, it is critical to include asexual and reproductive health lens in HIV programming. The evidence and interventions inthis chapter focus on the sexual and reproductive health ofwomen living with HIV. However, because so many women“All women, including thosewith HIV, have the right‘to decide freely and responsiblyon the number and spacing oftheir children and to have accessto the information, educationand means to enable them toexercise these rights’”(CEDAW, 1979 cited in Wilcherand Cates, 2009: 833).do not know their HIV status, many of the interventions inthis chapter are appropriate for all women irrespective ofserostatus.Full coverage of sexual and reproductive health (SRH)interventions for all women is beyond the scope of thisdocument, however, “[r]egardless of HIV status, increasingaccess to sexual and reproductive health services will notonly offer women more control over their reproductive livesand help them safely achieve their desired fertility, but willalso produce major public health benefits on maternal andinfant morbidity and mortality. Voluntary contraceptiveservices, in particular, will benefit the health of women andinfants in a variety of ways by delaying first births, lengtheningbirth intervals, reducing the total number of children born to one women, preventinghigh risk and unintended pregnancies and reducing the need for unsafe abortion” (Wilcher andCates, 2009: 833). In addition, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services may provide animportant entry point for HIV prevention information and services—entry points that includecontraception and family planning clinics, antenatal care clinics, STI clinics, and programs foradolescents (Interact Worldwide et al., 2007).183