February 15, 2005 – Washington, DC. The African and Caribbean GDLN, in collaboration with the World Bank’s LAC Human Development (LCSHD), the Knowledge Management Teams (LCRKM) and the World Bank Institute’s Human Development Department (WBIHD), with the support from the Government of the Netherlands, held a Global Dialogue on HIV/AIDS and the challenges faced by women and girls in relation to the disease, with the objective of sharing experiences and strategies for assisting them in fighting the threat posed by HIV/AIDS.

There were participants from Jamaica, Barbados, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda and Washington, DC, academic researchers, representatives from NGOs, and government officials working with women and girls infected and potentially infected by HIV/AIDS. They shared experiences on the importance of high political commitment towards fighting HIV/AIDS and implementing policies towards prevention.

Among those lines, Uganda shared its experience and explained the reasons why it is considered a success story: it has a strong political commitment from the highest levels –the President, the First Lady, government leaders as well as a high community involvement. Uganda approached the spread of HIV/AIDS as a socioeconomic challenge, beyond being a medical problem. It emphasized the importance of providing access to information to the population, promoted the use of condoms and addressed issues of HIV/AIDS in the workplace. Tanzania, a country with 8.06% of women between 15-24 years old being infected with HIV/AIDS in 2001, mentioned the importance of reducing vulnerability and increasing prevention through policy and behavior change. Also, it stressed the importance of addressing the gender side of HIV/AIDS, as the household level of poverty is rampant among women.

From the Caribbean, also one of the worst affected areas in the spread of HIV/AIDS, participants from Barbados mentioned the importance of keeping confidentiality among resource providers, increasing awareness levels among the poor and addressing mother-to-child as well as parent-to-child transmission. Jamaica stressed the importance of the work being done by faith-based organizations such as the Caribbean Council of Churches.

For more information on upcoming sessions on HIV/AIDS at GDLN, please click here. For more information on the World Bank’s response to HIV/AIDS in the Latin America and Caribbean Region, please visit http://www.worldbank.org/lacaids.