Empowered women and girls will stop HIV/AIDS epidemic: Statement by Minister Bibeau on World AIDS Day

December 1, 2018 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development, today issued the following statement:

“We have made tremendous progress in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Since 2005 we have nearly cut in half the number of people dying because of AIDS, and we have dramatically increased the number of people living with HIV on treatment.

“But there are still far too many new infections—1.8 million in 2017 alone. To make matters worse, estimates indicate that only 75% of people with HIV know their status. This tells us that scaling up treatment will not be enough to end AIDS as an epidemic by 2030. We must focus on prevention and testing. We must tackle stigma and discrimination, and we must address the needs of the most vulnerable: adolescent girls, for example.

“In the hardest-hit countries, girls account for more than 80% of all new HIV infections among adolescents. Globally, 15- to 24-year-old women are twice as likely as young men to be infected.

“The reason for this is pervasive gender inequality, which makes women and girls more vulnerable to child, early and forced marriage, as well as sexual and gender-based violence. This puts them at greater risk of getting infected and makes it less likely that they will be able to get tested or seek treatment.

“We must look at HIV prevention and testing in the context of a comprehensive package of sexual and reproductive health services and information. When women and girls are empowered to make informed choices about their bodies and lives, when their human rights are upheld and when they are meaningfully involved in coming up with solutions, we will be able to put an end to HIV/AIDS once and for all.”