Abstract #334  -  Why is HIV so severe in Women in Southern Africa?
Authors:   Presenting Author:   Professor Hoosen Coovadia - RHRU; Univ of Kwazulu-Natal
Additional Authors:
Aim: This presentation looks very briefly at the evidence which shows that unlike other parts of the world, in southern Africa, women are more often infected and affected by HIV than men. The biomedical and social reasons for this are well known. The interesting question is how can we understand this vulnerability of women in the context of the vulnerability of entire populations to HIV within the sub-continent of southern Africa; it is therefore also, partly, an answer to the question “why is HIV/AIDS so severe in southern Africa?”. The critical role of historical and current migrations across the continent and within national borders is highlighted to explain the higher risks of HIV in Africa`s women. The super-structural, structural, environmental and individual factors which have recently been proposed as key reasons for gender-based inequalities leading to HIV, and therefore prime targets for interventions, are summarized.The talk touches on the possibly unintended effects on women of some of the proven methods of prevention of spread of HIV, such as circumcision and mother-to-child-transmission of HIV. The conclusion points out that a failure to meet the MDG goals for Maternal Mortality in some countries, is a failure of health systems to adapt to the Primary Health Care approach as a guiding principle in determining priorities for delivery of services.
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