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IWHC addresses the 38th Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development |
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From April 4-8, 2005 the United Nations Commission on Population and Development (CPD) held its 38th session in New York. The session focused on Population, Development, and HIV/AIDS, with a particular emphasis on poverty. The Commission also discussed how full implementation of the Cairo Programme for Action, adopted by 179 governments at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994, is vital to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs are a set of objectives to reduce poverty, improve health, and promote development worldwide, adopted at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000.
On Monday, April 4, IWHC addressed the Commission on the HIV/AIDS epidemic's disproportionate impact on girls and women, including how gender inequalities fuel the epidemic in every region of the world. Today, half of people living with HIV/AIDS are women, up from 41 percent in 1997. Young women are particularly vulnerable: in Sub-Saharan Africa, a staggering 75 percent of 15- to 24-year-olds living with HIV/AIDS are girls. To stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, we must invest in two things: (1) comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for women and (2) comprehensive sexuality education for young people that promotes gender equality and human rights. IWHC's full statement is available below.
- Read IWHC's official statement, "Reproductive Health and Rights: A Vital Strategy in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS," in English, French, or Spanish.
- Click here to read IWHC's statement as delivered to the Commission.
- Click here to visit the website of the Commission on Population and Development's 38th session, including background documents and a full agenda.
- Click here to read more about IWHC's and our colleagues' commitment to addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic's impact on women and girls worldwide.
- Click here to read more about reproductive health and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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