This paper argues that stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls in Southern Africa will significantly improve chances of slowing the pandemic. But the authors argue that slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS is more than a medical problem, and depends on targetting and changing the inequality between men and women in Southern Africa. The authors suggest, that among the international community, the objective of equality must be as important as the objective of halting the spread of the disease.


The authors claim that inequality is evident in laws, social practices, in access to health care, and in expectations of labour and domestic responsibility. However, despite the fact that men and women have such different social experiences, the authors suggest that most strategies to combat HIV/AIDS are gender-neutral, and fail to account for men's and women's different needs.


The paper outlines the findings of the Secretary General's Task Force on Women, Girls, and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa, particularly in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. These findings include:

• prevention: girls must be protected from the risk of HIV infection by older men
• education: governments must take active measures to keep girls in school
• violence: governments must protect women and girls from the risk of exposure to HIV infection as a result of violence
• property and inheritance: women and girls must have secure rights to own and inherit land
• women and girls must not be solely relied upon as care-givers
• women and girls must be able to access adequate medical care and treatment

The paper is divided into seven substantive sections, covering topics such as:

• facing realities
• keeping girls in schools and keeping schools safe
• ABC and new approaches to prevention
• silence and violence
• women's work -- caring for those with HIV/AIDS
• property and inheritance rights
• access to care and treatment

The paper ultimately concludes with the following recommendations:

• there is need for public engagement around shifting the social norms and values that undermine women’s rights
• improving the self-esteem, confidence, respect and self awareness of boys and girls is essential. Yet self-esteem and self-respect mean nothing if laws and policies do not allow women to access opportunities
• Southern African states must expand and strengthen existing health and education institutions in order to reach women and girls who are ordinarily ignored