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Advancing Women’s Leadership for AIDS Action   
March 28, 2007—Idah Nambeya (pictured right) is a leader on the frontlines of the fight against AIDS in Zambia, where over 16 percent of the population is infected with HIV. Working with Center for Infectious Disease Research, she knows firsthand the barriers that women face in gaining equal access to the knowledge and services to prevent HIV infection and treat AIDS-related illnesses. She also knows that there has never been a more pressing need to empower women in the fight against AIDS. Today, women are nearly half of the 39.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. In some countries of Africa and the Caribbean, young women are up to six times more likely to be infected with HIV than young men. Women are also the primary caretakers of those who have become sick and children who lose their parents to AIDS. Idah and 20 other women leaders are spending two weeks at CEDPA to become master trainers in the new Advancing Women’s Leadership and Advocacy for AIDS Action initiative. Funded by the Ford Foundation, the initiative will equip and empower a cadre of women from around the world to lead the global response to AIDS. It includes global, regional and national trainings for women living with and affected by HIV, and a small grants program to support women’s networks working on AIDS issues in the developing world.
CEDPA’s partners in the initiative include the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, the International Center for Research on Women, the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS and the National Minority AIDS Council. The initiative was formally launched at a March 27 reception at CEDPA’s Washington, DC headquarters with speakers including UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot and Dr. Jacob Gayle, Deputy Vice President for the Global Initiative on HIV/AIDS at the Ford Foundation. As a new master trainer, Idah Nambeya and the other workshop participants will build leadership, advocacy and technical expertise of women throughout their countries who are working to end AIDS. The master trainers spent two intensive weeks at CEDPA to hone their training, leadership and advocacy skills; exchange best practices; and learn cutting edge technical and programmatic information for more effective HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support. These trainers represent countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Cambodia, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Ukraine, USA, and Zambia. Together, they will help build a growing network of empowered women leaders who will help strengthen AIDS policies, programs and resources around the world. The Advancing Women’s Leadership and Advocacy for AIDS Action initiative also supports research and advocacy to shape AIDS efforts so that they are more responsive to the needs of women and girls. The small grants component will increase the capacity of local networks to engage more fully in global and national forums that help determine AIDS policies and programs, and ensure that women’s needs are reflected in decisions that affect them. Learn more about CEDPA’s trainings. |
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