HIV-Positive Women, MDGs and Reproductive Rights

This 2-page publication in pamphlet format from Ipas examines 7 short-term actions needed to improve sexual and reproductive health services for HIV-positive women in light of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It lists recommendations for social science and policy research to improve reproductive health services for HIV-positive women.

The 3 MDGs related to the needs of HIV-positive women include:

• MDG 3: promote gender equality and empower women.
  
• MDG 5: improve maternal health.
  
• MDG 6: combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

In this publication, Ipas emphasises the need for immediate action and supported research that can inform policies and programmes.

The short-term actions are the following:

1. "Disseminate practical information on human rights standards and ways in which women can claim their sexual and reproductive (SRH) rights." People living with HIV, health-care providers, non-governmental organisation (NGO) staff and policymakers need to be informed in order to advocate for international rights treaty ratification and monitor compliance, understand how to lobby lawmakers and claim rights through enacted laws, and bring cases before medical ethics committees, human rights commissions, and lawyers, when necessary.
2. "Promote capacity- and skills-building for women affected by and living with HIV/AIDS so that they can participate meaningfully in advocacy and policymaking." NGOs and universities can help enhance through training the ability of women affected by and experienced with HIV to inform policy and advocate for needs through mentoring relationships, internships, and opportunities to develop skills such as proposal writing, strategic planning, and monitoring and evaluation.
   
3. "Employ women living with HIV as paid educators and counsellors." HIV-positive women can be paid to formulate and disseminate messages on prevention as paid counsellors and educators.
4. "Work with associations of HIV-positive women and women’s groups specifically to develop advocacy around broader sexual and reproductive health rights." The document advocates for: expansion beyond perinatal screening and antiretroviral (ARV) access for preventing mother-to-child transmission, claiming rights to further screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and breast and cervical cancer; adequate antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care for HIV-positive women and infants; access to breast-feeding option information; post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV-negative women; safe access to abortions and post abortion care; and programmes to address violence against women and girls, as well as care for victims.
5. "Prepare and publish information and counselling materials on family planning in the context of HIV/AIDS." For both those HIV-positive women who do and do not want to become pregnant, materials can be written specifically addressing their needs and with their SRH rights included regarding pregnancy and adoption.
6. "Ensure that the health system addresses both wanted and unwanted pregnancies in relation to HIV/AIDS." Those accustomed to speaking only about prevention of perinatal transmission must learn to inform women in a non-judgemental and non-coercive way about their options in connection with unwanted pregnancies and offer them safe treatment and counselling.
7. "Advocate for regular monitoring of SRH benchmarks by female NGO staff and women affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic." Ipas advocates for involving HIV-positive women in monitoring whether policies and programmes reach benchmarks and for enabling them to publicly present their findings.

The document concludes with topics for research that can build an evidence base for improved policy formulation and service provision.