Power of Girls in Confronting HIV/AIDS

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UNICEF MEDIA ADVISORY

Power of Girls in Confronting HIV/AIDS

WHO: Carol Bellamy - Executive Director, UNICEF
Charlayne Hunter-Gault - CNN Johannesburg Bureau Chief
Judi Nwokedi - Lovelife Media and Entertainment Director
Girls and young women from various African countries
WHAT: An encounter on Power of Girls in Confronting HIV/AIDS
WHEN: Wednesday, 12th July, 2000, 4 pm
WHERE: Conference Room 3, International Convention Centre, during the XIII
International AIDS conference, Durban, South Africa
WHY: Surveys reported in the UNICEF flagship publication, Progress of Nations 2000,
confirm that infection rates among girls and young women between the ages of
15-24, are consistently much higher than among boys and young men of the
same age. For instance, in Botswana, 1 in 3 girls and young women are HIVpositive compared with 1 in 7 young men in this age group. The ratio is 1 in 4
-__and 1 in 10 respectively in Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
How did these rates come to be so disastrously high and why are girls and
a young women particularly vulnerable? What's the missing link? Are the
- messages badly constructed or wrongly directed? Are cultural blocks and
_ unfavourable and discriminative practices standing in the way of success or is it
--" simply denial by self, families and communities? Has the political leadership
___ done enough? Is it lack of information or are girls and young women not
_,.sufficiently empowered to use information on how to avoid getting infected? Is
it pressure and predatory boys and older men who are putting girls at risk?
_What more can societies do? Are there resources that have been neglected
by those who wish to help? Youth potential to be educators, maybe? Are
parents, society, schools, religions, and others showing honest and sustained
commitment? What of donor agencies and international development
organizations?
Please attend what is sure to be a unique and exciting encounter on the
power of girls and young women in confronting HIV/AIDS.
For more information, contact Tom Mshindi at 082 858-3691, Ruchira Gupta at 082
858-3558 or Tembeka Mbobo at 083 489-6279