Eastern and southern Africa remains the region most
affected by the HIV epidemic, accounting for 45% of
the world’s HIV infections and 53% of people living
with HIV globally. Strong shared responsibility between
the region’s governments, civil society, international
donors and the research community is delivering steep
declines in HIV infections and AIDS-related mortality.
However, huge challenges remain. Gender inequalities
and gender-based violence, combined with physiological
factors, place women and girls in eastern and southern
Africa at huge risk of HIV infection. In 10 countries in the
region, laws and policies that require parental consent
to access sexual and reproductive health services
discourage adolescent girls from accessing the services
they need to stay healthy. Removal of these requirements
is needed, as is the rapid scale-up of intensive
combination prevention programme packages, including
elements that improve school attendance and empower
young women to mitigate their own risk.
