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What Works for Women and Girls

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Global Initiatives on <strong>Women</strong>, <strong>Girls</strong> <strong>and</strong> HIV/AIDSA number of multilateral <strong>and</strong> bilateral donors have developed gender policies or strategies,including the two largest donors <strong>for</strong> AIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis <strong>and</strong>Malaria <strong>and</strong> the U.S. President’s Initiative <strong>for</strong> AIDS Relief.The Global Fund’s Gender Equality Strategy, approved in late 2008 (The Global Fund toFight AIDS, TB <strong>and</strong> Malaria, 2009), is aligned with the principles underpinning the GlobalFund’s approach: country-led initiatives; evidence-based practices; subject to independentreview; <strong>and</strong> able to be monitored. Based on the Gender Equality Strategy, the Global Fundpromotes programs <strong>and</strong> seeks proposals that:Scale up services <strong>and</strong> interventions that reduce gender-related risks <strong>and</strong> vulnerabilities toinfection;Decrease the burden of disease <strong>for</strong> those most at-risk;Mitigate the impact of the three diseases; <strong>and</strong>Address structural inequalities <strong>and</strong> discrimination.The legislation authorizing PEPFAR in 2003 contained strong language related to gender<strong>and</strong> the need to address the vulnerability of women <strong>and</strong> girls with strong programming toreduce gender inequity (Ashburn et al., 2009: USAID/AIDSTAR-One, 2009). The Officeof the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) defined five strategies to address gender inequity,including:Increasing gender equity in HIV/AIDS activities <strong>and</strong> services;Reducing violence <strong>and</strong> coercion;Addressing male norms <strong>and</strong> behaviors;Increasing women’s legal protection; <strong>and</strong>Increasing women’s access to income <strong>and</strong> productive resources.National Strategies Have Been DevelopedBut Implementation Is LaggingSome countries have also created agendas that address gender issues within the AIDSp<strong>and</strong>emic. For example, Brazil brought together government agencies, the Ministry of Health<strong>and</strong> the Special Secretary <strong>for</strong> <strong>Women</strong>’s Policies, along with leaders in women’s rights <strong>and</strong>health promotion to develop an intersectoral policy to address women’s needs in the AIDSp<strong>and</strong>emic: access to health services; sexual <strong>and</strong> reproductive health care; social service needs,etc. (Guimaraes de Andrade et al., 2008). Similarly, seven Southern African countries haveWHAT WORKS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS29

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