To Curb HIV/AIDS, Stop Gender-Based Violence, U.S. Government Says

"Gender-based violence is a world-wide pandemic and directly affects the spread of HIV/AIDS. Fear of violence limits the ability of women and girls to choose their partners; to find out about a partner's HIV status or disclose their own; and to get medical or counseling services," according to a U.S. government editorial in VOA News.

"The United States recognizes the link between gender-based violence and global HIV/AIDS," the editorial states, noting that the U.S. government has given PEPFAR "an additional 30 million dollars to scale up the response against gender-based violence, with significant funding going towards [existing programs in] Tanzania, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo." According to the editorial, "The idea is to use their experience in dealing with gender-based violence and HIV to scale-up gender-based violence programming and improve the coordination and efficiency of programs against gender-based violence. Some of the money will also be used to make health facilities more comprehensive and able to respond to victims of violence" (5/18).

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