HIV Epidemic, Family Planning "Inextricably Linked"

Noting "[a]pproximately 17 million women worldwide are currently living with HIV, with more than a million new infections in women of reproductive age each year," Suzanne Ehlers, president and CEO of Population Action International (PAI), and Charles Lyons, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), write in this guest post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog that "family planning and HIV are inextricably linked, especially for HIV-positive women who are pregnant or may become pregnant." They continue, "And while addressing unmet family planning needs is essential for all women, family planning services are particularly critical for HIV-positive women who want to postpone pregnancy due to HIV-related illness, or want to access medicines and services that will allow them to give birth to an HIV-negative child" (Barton, 7/24).

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