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Faces of Aids: Gender Inequality and Hiv/Aids

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Faces of Aids: Gender Inequality and Hiv/Aids
Running Head: Face of AIDS: Gender Inequality and HIV/AIDS

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Face of AIDS: Gender Inequality and HIV/AIDS Introduction The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which eventually develops into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a devastating disease that has reached pandemic levels, affecting all populations worldwide. Since the first reported case of HIV/AIDS in the early 1980s, HIV/AIDS has become one of the leading causes of mortality across the globe in the history of mankind (U.S. Global Health Policy [USGHP], 2010). While HIV/AIDS has contributed significantly to the global burden of disease; amongst those living with HIV/AIDS, it has had devastating impacts on women and girls. Amid 40 million people living with HIVAIDS globally, virtually half of them are women (Quinn & Overbaugh, 2005). In addition, new infection rates have been escalating dramatically worldwide, with most centralized in developing countries (The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS [GCWA], n.d.). In sub-Saharan Africa, women account for almost 60% of all infected adults, while girls account for approximately 75% of all infected young people between ages of 15 and 24 (Brijnath, 2007; Quinn & Overbaugh, 2005). In developing countries such as sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion of women infected with HIV/AIDS is also on the rise, for every ten men infected with HIV/AIDS, 13 women are diagnosed HIV-positive (Brijnath, 2007). In developed countries such as United States, the incidence of HIV/AIDS had increased by 15% compared with 1% that of men from 1999 to 2003 (Quinn & Overbaugh, 2005). These alarming statistics imply an ominous future for women and girls affected by the disease – feminization of HIV/AIDS. This paper will highlight the burden of disease implications on gender inequality in developing nations.

Running Head: Face of AIDS: Gender Inequality and HIV/AIDS

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Feminization of HIV/AIDS When HIV/AIDS cases were first reported, it was viewed that HIV/AIDS was a



References: Brijnath, B. (2007). It’s about time: Engendering AIDS in Africa. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 9(4), 371-386. Carr, R.L., & Gramling, L.F. (2004). Stigma: A health barrier for women with HIV/AIDS. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 15(5), 30-39. Mulligan, S. (2006). Women and HIV/AIDS. The Furrow, 57(4), 232-238. Quinn, T.C., & Overbaugh, J. (2005). HIV/AIDS in women: An expanding epidemic. Women’s Health, 308, 1582-1583. Rountree, M.A., & Mulraney, M. (2008). HIV/AIDS risk reduction intervention for women who have experienced intimate partner violence. Clinical Social Work Journal, 38, 207-216. The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS. (n.d.). About GCWA. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://www.womenandaids.net/about-gcwa.aspx U.S. Global Health Policy. (2010). AIDS deaths (adults and children) 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2011, from http://www.globalhealthfacts.org/topic.jsp?i=7

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