It is a common axiom that HIV and AIDS has a female face—images and stories abound of girls dropping out of school to provide care, grandmothers in poor communities acting as sole providers for orphans and vulnerable children and young women being evicted and blamed for bringing HIV into their home. With limited opportunities for education, lower status in society, and heightened insecurity, many women and girls in Sub-Saharan Africa are at a higher risk of contracting HIV.

In Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean the epidemic is often limited to groups such as injecting drug users, social minorities and men who have sex with men. Even though the HIV prevalence is dominant among men in these groups, the gender impacts cannot be underestimated. Men living with HIV have relationships with women, too: their mothers, sister, partners and friends. These women are equally affected and the response must therefore be comprehensive.

In August, the XVII International AIDS Conference will call for ‘Universal Action Now’. This is an appropriate theme—especially if we are to achieve Universal Access by 2010 as a target set by governments and heads of states through the UN Global Action Plan on HIV and AIDS in 2005. The World YWCA will bring the voices of young people, women and the faith community to the conference held in Mexico.

In this issue of Common Concern, we share information on some of the practical and creative activities YWCAs worldwide have taken in response to HIV. In the feature article, I share the key messages the World YWCA will take to the conference in Mexico, messages that address the gender dimensions of HIV and AIDS. The World YWCA proposes three areas for ‘universal action now’ based on the Nairobi 2007 Call to Action on HIV and AIDS, which was adopted at the International Women’s Summit on Leadership on HIV and AIDS.

Susan Brennan, World YWCA President, leads the Take Action section that features personal accounts on how the Call to Action has inspired four women to engage in their community. Through this special issue of Common Concern, we call on each one of you to make a personal commitment to do something each day towards addressing HIV and AIDS especially as it impacts on women and young people. ‘Universal action’ demands your personal action, too. A major breakthrough in the response to HIV can only be made when individual, community and government responses come together with consistent purpose and vision.

Read Common Concern:

• English version: HIV and AIDS: What Universal Access means for Women and Girls (PDF 1.19 MB)
• French version: VIH et SIDA: la signification de l’Action Universelle pour les femmes (PDF 1.22 MB)
• Spanish version: VIH y SIDA: Qué significa la acción universal para niñas y mujeres (PDF 1.21 MB)