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 AIDS the leading cause of death among women--report
Women all over the world had nothing to be proud of this International Women’s Day as far as the statistics of HIV virus and AIDS are concerned.
According to the latest report ‘Women and Health: Today's Evidence for Tomorrow's Agenda’ released by the World Health Organization (WHO), HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of killer of women between the age group of 15 and 49 years.
Out of the estimated 33.4 million people suffering from HIV/AIDS worldwide, 15.7 million are women.
Around 22.4 million people in the Sub-Sahara Africa are suffering from HIV, and it is estimated that three-fifths of people with the virus in the region are women.
Infection among women on the rise
About 30 years ago, very few women were infected by HIV. As a result, this issue was not given priority. But over the years, the disease has started taking a toll on women’s health.
In a statement, Robin Gorna, executive director, International AIDS Society, stated, “We’re nearly three decades into the epidemic and we have the depressing news that AIDS is now the leading cause of death of women of reproductive age across the globe.”
The health of women and girls is adversely affected by other social and economic factors as well, like lack of education, household wealth etc.
As per the latest reported titled ‘No Action: No Progress,’ the women and girls in Canada are increasingly being deprived of human rights.
Apart from the social and economic discrimination adversely effecting women, the lack of integrative care has also magnified their problems.
Difficulties involved in integrative care for women
The anti-viral drugs are available in the market and a lot of women are able to access these drugs but it is yet not clear how to give the best treatment to women.
Though these drugs have proved effective, their overall effects on women have yet not been researched. The reason is that doctors and pharmaceutical companies are concerned about the side effects these drugs may have on women, especially those who are pregnant.
The side effects of these drugs could include severe deformities in children born to HIV-infected women.
A drug called Thalidomide was sold in a number of countries across the world in 1960s and 70s. Since the medication proved effective against morning sickness, thousands of pregnant women took the drug to relieve their symptoms.
But after it resulted in birth defects, and miscarriages, the medication, ‘one of the biggest medical tragedies of modern times’, was withdrawn from the markets all over the world.
(2010-03-10 / TheMoneyTimes)
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