Gender Inequality Must Be Addressed to "Get to Zero" in AIDS
Epidemic December 13, 2012 "What does it take to get to zero?
While reflecting on the theme of this past World AIDS Day
(Getting to zero, Zero new infections, Zero discrimination, Zero
deaths), I asked myself this question," Lisa MacDonald, project
manager at HealthBridge Foundation of Canada, writes in a
Huffington Post Canada opinion piece. "The truth is that it
takes a combined effort across multiple sectors, using multiple
strategies and targeting multiple audiences," she states.
However, "one issue that cuts across all sectors is that of
gender inequity and its role in shaping sexual relations and in
determining life choices," she continues. "Underlying gender
inequality is the unspoken reality that, in many parts of the
world, women and girls are undervalued by society and even their
own families," MacDonald writes. "As a result of their lower
position in society, girls and women often lack power to make
choices and are forced into life situat