The overall mission of this organization is to consider the populace living with HIV/AIDS all over the globe. It is the pillar of the U.S Global Health Initiative, whose main mission lies in saving lives through lending relevant support to countries in improving their health (About PEPFAR, 2009).
HIV/AIDS prevalence in women is a key universal concern. HIV Gender Equality is an add-on to the Global Health Initiative (GHI) that works towards maternal health and issues concerning gender violence. At a conference presentation, Secretary Sebelius confirms that AIDS affects a significant percentage of women of the reproductive age worldwide (2012). She attributes these statistics to the majority of women without financial resources who do not come forward to access health care whenever infected fearing stigmatization. In addition, women are likely victims of gender violence and sexual assails further increasing their chances of HIV infection (Para. 5).
The organization has instigated a novel federal work unit that centers on gender-related health discrepancies, brutalities against women, and HIV/AIDS worldwide, hoping to alleviate these issues. The President’s Advisory on AIDS approved a decree on the requirements of women living with HIV and those at risk. This calls women and girls and HIV to converge its nationwide endeavors on decreasing new infections and making access to health care among women available. The group takes part in guiding home violence counselors to incorporate HIV/AIDS cutback approaches to their work, giving health care providers spot-on tools to recognize indications of maltreatment and violence, and holding the male fraternity in discussions on caring for women (Para. 6).
The team is working to stop systematic bias against women in health insurance because of the famous healthcare law in the U.S. These biases include segregation based on pregnancy, HIV infection, and domestic violence victims. Insurers also overcharge women on similar insurance policies as men (Para. 7). It is also concentrating on making the welfare of HIV-positive mothers the focus of its struggle. Worth noting are efforts to confront gender violence worldwide.
So far, there is success related to these intervention measures. While visiting a Kenyan Coptic hospital, Sebelius met and talked to an HIV-infected mother who had inadvertently passed on the virus to her first baby. With care and treatment, she conceived again giving birth to a healthy child. Both mother and child were happy healthy people (Para. 10). In Abuja, Stella, an HIV-infected woman received support from PEPFAR, which saw her deliver HIV-free babies. Stella was overjoyed to such an extent that she became a leader in the group teaching other women (Para. 12). UNICEF is also ensuring the proper health of infected mothers and children through its program of counseling mothers and providing drugs (UNICEF- Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, n.d.).
Another success story is a South African microfinance program that integrates gender impartiality and HIV edification in its mission (Sebelius, 2012). This spurred microfinance institutions to give small loans to slum women to establish small businesses that will give them financial stability hence economically empowering them to combat HIV (Zandonella, 2008). The New York health department (n.d.) further supports GHI’s intervention measures by highlighting that HIV counseling and testing should take place in a private setting to provide a suitable ambiance to confer domestic violence issues.
References
About PEPFAR. (2009). Web.
New York Department of Health. (N.d.). Guidelines for integrating domestic violence screening into HIV counseling, testing, referral & partner notification. Web.
Sebelius. (2012, July 25). Women and girls and HIV gender equality. Web.
UNICEF- Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. (N.d.). Web.
Zandonella, C. (2008). Small loans: Big hopes. Can economic empowerment programs give women the skills and power to reduce their risk of HIV? 12(3). Web.