Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - November 30, 2004
About 400 aid workers from around the world are attending a three-day conference that opened Monday with a focus on how women and girls - whom experts say are 2.5 times more susceptible to contracting AIDS than men - can be saved from the pandemic.
During the last two years, the steepest increases in the number of women living with HIV , the virus that causes AIDS, have been in East Asia, up 56%, and Central Asia and Eastern Europe, both up 48%, according to a reports released by the U.N. at the conference.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz pledged full support for the aid workers.
"It is painful reality that women in this region are generally more illiterate, having less mobility, a lower socio-economic status and less access to health care and education that men," Aziz told the conference on Monday.
"This imbalance needs to be viewed as a key impediment not only to the prevention of AIDS, but also to development and good governance."
Earlier, Dr. Peter Piot, UNAIDS executive director, said that it is time for a shift from "quick fixes" to long-term strategies.
"The empowerment of women is the best vaccine we now have against AIDS," said UNIFEM Director Noeleen Heyder.
In an effort to seek innovative solutions, dozens of papers have been submitted to the conference on topics ranging from a unique AIDS prevention program for street children in India to an effort to start AIDS education at a madrassa, or Islamic school, in east Africa.
Others deal with orphans left behind by the deaths of parents from AIDS.
Pakistan Health Minister Mohammed Naseer Khan vowed that his country "will fight with full strength against HIV/AIDS."
He insisted that the situation in his country is not "alarming," but said, "Still, we have to stop it, to keep it away from our country and control it."
He asked the aid workers and technical experts to come up with recommendations.
Pakistan officially has 2,748 cases of people who have tested HIV-positive. But international agencies say the real number could be as high as 70,000.
041130
AP041164
Copyright © 2004 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2004. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .