Asian governments urged to address HIV and AIDS gender inequality
01/07/2010
Governments in Asia Pacific nations have been urged to intervene in gender inequalities taking place within their countries that relate to HIV and AIDS.
The United Nations (UN) has urged politicians to tackle the increasing rate of women who are becoming infected with the disease, Plus News reports.
UNAids noted there are currently 1.6 million females in the region with the virus.
This accounts for 35 per cent of all infections in Asia and is almost double the 18 per cent recorded two decades ago.
Moni Pizani, UN Development Fund for Women regional programme director, observed: "Tackling harmful gender norms that are at the root of women's vulnerability to HIV is crucial to stem the spread of the epidemic."
It was recently announced new labour standards on HIV and AIDS have been adopted by the International Labour Organisation, which will aim to improve the contribution of the work-field to universal access to HIV treatment facilities.
Written by Dan Parr
