UNIFEM, UNAIDS Launch Web Site To Provide Resources, Information on Gender Dimension of HIV/AIDS

The United Nations Development Fund for Women, in collaboration with UNAIDS, on Friday launched a new Web site, www.GenderandAIDS.org, that will provide researchers, policy makers and health care practitioners with resources and information on the gender dimensions of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Worldwide, 50% of adults living with HIV/AIDS are women, according to a joint UNIFEM/UNAIDS press release. UNIFEM Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer said, "I believe that one of the most powerful HIV vaccines available today is women's empowerment. By bringing knowledge and information to the global community, we are able to empower women ... [which] is the key to reversing the epidemic." UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot said, "This online resource center is a practical step forward by UNIFEM and UNAIDS together, designed to help improve the support for the millions of women around the world living with HIV and affected by the epidemic." The Web site offers research, training materials, surveys, advocacy tools, current news and opinion pieces by experts in the field, as well as stories from women living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. The groups also plan to provide a database of experts, "which will serve as a technical and networking vehicle for national and global gender and HIV/AIDS specialists" (UNIFEM/UNAIDS release, 2/21).