D16. Poverty, social and socio-economic structures and HIV    Category: D16. Poverty, social and socio-economic structures and HIV Title: THE GENDER DIMENSIONS OF HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

INTRODUCTION: The study was carried out at Provincial General Hospital, Nakuru, Kenya between May 2009- September 2010 and the objective was to establish the link between violation of human rights of women and girls and HIV/AIDS pandemic. Women and girls in Kenya presently comprise more than 78% of those living with HIV and the numbers continue to grow hence the need to acknowledge the devastating gender dynamics of HIV/AIDS demanding placement of women's empowerment at the centre of programming, planning as a HIV prevention strategy and a solution to the epidemic.HIV/AIDS is rapidly becoming a women's epidemic.

METHODS: Qualitative and quantitative methods applied in data collection, evaluating HIV interventions, semi-structured group discussions, questionnaires and 10 in-depth interviews were conducted by a trained duo observing ethical considerations for research in a central neutral, confidential location engaging 14 health providers at VCT and HIV care clinics, 104 women living with HIV between ages 21-49 years purposely selected (i.e. marital status, age, literacy level social-economic status, cultures). FINDINGS: Developmental policies largely cater for male interests and promote inequalities. The structured discrimination often mirrored through women's exclusion in development and decision-making. Violence is a risk factor to HIV limiting women's decision to seek testing for HIV.

Young women aged 21-29 years are 5 Young women aged 21-29 years are 5.5 times likely to become infected than men of the same group and those already infected 3-5 are female. Youth programmes are gender-blind. The intersection of poverty with gender inequality makes women vulnerable to infection i.e. inability to negotiate safe sex due to their dependency on men. While gender is culture specific constrict the study established what is consistent across cultures is a distinct difference between women and men's roles, access to productive resources and decision-making authority. Women have less access to and control of productive resources e.g. land ownership, labor force, literacy and these gaps testify to this imbalance of power.

Topic of sexuality not comprehensively covered during pre-service training for health providers. CONCLUSION: Promote an understanding of gender, sexuality as contracted by a complex interplay of socio-cultural and economic forces that determine the distribution of power. Empower women to manage their sexual reproductive life. Reduce poverty among women as a high risk factor for infection. Expand HIV prevention options especially for girls and women beyond ´ABC´ methods. Combat gender-based violence (GBV) as intervention strategy. Expanding, improving health worker education on reproduction health and HIV/AIDs services i.e. adequate training on fundamentals of sexuality and interpersonal skills on delicate issues of sexuality and building rights-based health systems as girls and women face issues of stigma when trying to access health care services. De-stigmatize HIV at health settings and work places.  

Author(s): Ndegwa Mutiga, Paul Moses1, Mwangi, Jane2, Githinji Macharia, Musa3, Kibuchi, Everlyn4 INSTITUTE(S): 1Ambassadors of Change, NGO, Advocacy, Nakuru, Kenya, 2Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium, Programming, Nairobi, Kenya, 3Ambassadors of Change, NGO, Policy, Nakuru, Kenya, 4Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium, TB Manager, Nairobi, Kenya