Announcement by Canadian Government – World AIDS Day, 2004
Canadian Red Cross applauds the announcement by the Honourable Aileen Carroll, Minister of International Cooperation on the Canadian Government’s $15 million contribution to the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM).
Given the focus on girls and women in the 2004 World AIDS campaign, the Canadian Government’s announcement is laudable for demonstrating leadership in addressing HIV/AIDS as a gender issue, with an increasingly devastating impact on women.
A report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released last week underscores the increasingly disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS on women, particularly in developing countries. Nearly half of all people living with HIV/AIDS in the world are women, and in sub-Saharan Africa, young women aged 15 to 24 years are about three times more likely to be infected than young men of the same age.
Microbicides are substances that could substantially reduce transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) when applied topically. Microbicides could be produced in many forms, such as gels, creams, suppositories, films, or in the form of a sponge or a vaginal ring that slowly releases the active ingredient over time.
While no microbicides are available on the market today, research is ongoing to establish whether various products can effectively protect against HIV. Female-initiated prevention technologies are critical tools in addressing the gender barriers that continue to impact women’s ability to protect themselves. Such tools give women control over their own health and protection against HIV and other STIs.
