To address the gender dimensions of HIV/AIDS, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has developed a Global HIV/AIDS Framework, which lays the foundation for activities that address empowering women to prevent transmission and mitigate impact. UNIFEM’s Global Framework has six objectives, to

• Strengthen legal and policy frameworks within the context of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women that promote gender equality, women’s empowerment and stigma reduction for those infected, affected or at risk of HIV/AIDS
• Demonstrate that gender sensitive community-based initiatives can provide a basis for advocating at the grass roots level, for improved prevention, treatment and care strategies that both mitigate the impact of the epidemic and transform gender relations
• Promote the participation of women living with and at risk of HIV/AIDS – including young women and adolescents – in the decision making and formulation of HIV/AIDS policies and programmes
• Collaborate with and support the UN system at the inter-agency level in mainstreaming gender and women’s human rights into all HIV/AIDS-Related programmes, strategies and policies
• Strengthen the capacity of non-governmental organisations, governments and UN agencies to advocate for responses to HIV/AIDS that take gender and human rights into account, with particular focus on women’s role within the care economy, on adolescent girls and young women
• Continue to promote women’s human rights, economic security and leadership in settings affected by HIV/AIDS

Key Roles of Regional Offices

Regional Offices and Contacts

www.unifem.org
www.unifem.zw.org
www.unifem-easternafrica.org
www.genderandaids.org