July 18, 2014 - openDemocracy.
by Susan Paxton
As the representative for the International Community of Women living with HIV on the Conference Coordinating Committee for AIDS2014, my aim over the past two years was to get as many women living with HIV from as diverse backgrounds as possible onto the International AIDS Conference programme. I have been successful in terms of the plenaries and symposia, with over a dozen women living with HIV, from Africa, Asia, Central America and the Pacific presenting. They include, Dr Lydia Mungherera, Uganda, who founded the award winning "Mama's Club" in Uganda; Jenifer Gatsi, who has been working with Namibian women to challenge their government over forced sterilizations, and L'Orangelis Thomas Negron from Puerto Rico, who was born with HIV and started a blog "Ovaries of Steel".
However, in terms of the number of conference delegates who are women living with HIV, I am disappointed to say the least, and I now start to question the value of much of the work that is carried out under the guise of the response to HIV. Continue reading...
