| Women and Girls Section 
Gender inequality in Zimbabwe is fueling the HIV and AIDS epidemic, with women and girls being more at risk than their male counterparts. The spread and impact of HIV is very hard for women and girls in both urban and rural settings to cope with. Among people aged 15-19 years, the proportions of HIV positive women and men are 6 percent and 3 percent, respectively (Zimbabwe Demographic Health Data Report 2006).
HIV prevalence is higher for women and girls than men and boys in every age group from 15 to 39 years of age (ZDH 2006).
There is growing evidence that the high vulnerability and susceptibility of women and girls to HIV in Zimbabwe is due to socio-cultural factors. These include poverty, tendency to have relationships with older men, gender-based violence or fear of it, and lack of means to sustainable livelihoods that leave women and girls with no option but to use the only portable resource at their disposal, their bodies. Women and girls also disproportionately shoulder the impact of HIV and AIDS through their role in caring for the sick and the orphaned. In response to the Secretary General’s Task Force recommendations, a National Plan of Action (NPA) focusing on Women, Girls and HIV and AIDS (WGHA) has been developed and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs Gender and Community Development in conjunction with the National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe are committed to implement the WGHA programme. The NPA document addresses the following six issues which were proved to be making women and girls more vulnerable to HIV and AIDS: girls’ education, gender-based violence, property and inheritance rights, women and girls as care givers, and access to care support and treatment.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION TO NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION ON WGHA.
The Women, Girls and HIV and AIDS National Plan of Action (NPA) was developed on the basis of discussions and consultations with a wide range of stakeholders including regional staff during the period of 2004 through to 2005 and recommendations made during the process. This process was conducted under the auspices of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development and National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe, with support from the UN Country Team and the UNAIDS Regional Support Team.
The purpose of the NPA is to elevate women’s rights and the fight against HIV and AIDS to the forefront of public debate, discussion and action. It is the first ever plan in Zimbabwe that demonstrates the increasing concern on the impact of the HIV and AIDS epidemic on women and girls. The plan of action outlines the actions through which the Government of Zimbabwe, United Nations Country Team and civil society groups intend to execute the Secretary General’s Task Force recommendations on Women, Girls and HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe focusing on the following six issues:
1. Prevention of HIV among young women and girls
2. Girls’ education
3. Violence against women and girls
4. Property and inheritance rights of women and girls
5. The role of women and girls in caring for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS
6. Access to HIV and AIDS care and treatment for women and girls
The WGHA programme focuses on preventing new HIV infections among women and girls, promoting universal access to care, treatment and support, ensuring universal access to education, addressing legal inequities in accessing property and inheritance, reducing violence against women, and valuing women's care work within communities.
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