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UN special envoy for HIV, Mataka, condemns mass raping in DRC

Thu - 02/09/10

United Nations secretary general’s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Elizabeth Mataka, has strongly condemned the sexual violence perpetrated by the Mai Mai militia rebels on women in the DR Congolese town of Luvungu.

In a statement following the recent mass and brutal sexual assault on women in Luvunga by Mai Mai militia rebels, Mataka branded the rebels’ assault barbaric and said conflict situations could never be an excuse to violate women in the most demeaning and cruel manner.

“We must remember that these women will not only suffer untold psychological damage but are also potentially in danger of being infected with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases as well as the possibility of raising children born out of this grave violation,” Mataka stated.

She stated that the rights and protection of women and girls were non-negotiable because they were also human beings.

“I therefore join the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in condemning in the strongest terms the sexual violence perpetrated by rebels from the Mai Mai militia who mass raped poor defenseless women in Luvungu,” she stated.

She said efforts should be made to ensure that there was no repetition of such a barbaric assault on women.

“I have, during my term of office as UN Secretary-general’s special envoy of HIV/AIDS in Africa dedicated myself to lobby at every opportunity for the protection and empowerment of women and girls,” she stated.

Mataka, however, observed that the protection and empowerment of women and girls could not happen unless all people recognised the rights of women and girls.
“These are not negotiable and are not out of benevolence of anybody, these are basic human rights because they are human beings,” she stated.

Mataka called on African leaders to do everything possible to bring about peace in the DR Congo and all other parts of Africa engulfed in conflict.

She called on African countries to ensure that women and girls everywhere go about their daily struggles free of the threat of violence against them.

“It is imperative that global initiative such as the secretary generals UNITE campaign to end the violence against women, and the related Africa Union Chapter to end violence against women and others become truly operational to protect women from all forms of violence,” said Mataka.
By Salim Dawood, The Post
26 August 2010

Commission on the Status of Women Panel Focuses on Women’s Inheritance and Property Rights

Mon - 15/03/10

UNDP co-sponsored a panel, Women, HIV and Human Rights: Addressing Property and Inheritance Rights, on Tuesday that provided collective strategies that have been developed over the past few years to advocate for and uphold women’s inheritance and property rights. For women living with HIV, denial of property and inheritance rights can lead to loss of s

UGANDA: International pressure mounts against "harmful" HIV bill

Thu - 03/12/09

KAMPALA, 3 December 2009 (PlusNews) - The UN Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa, Elizabeth Mataka, has added her voice to growing criticism of a Ugandan bill that would criminalize the deliberate transmission of HIV.

President Zuma and UNAIDS Executive Director call for mass prevention movement at World AIDS Day commemoration in Pretoria

Wed - 02/12/09

UNAIDS

To mark World AIDS Day, UNAIDS Executive Director Mr Michel Sidibé joined President Jacob Zuma and South Africans in their national commemoration in Pretoria where he called for the forging of a mass prevention movement.

Poor scorecards on AIDS responses for women

Tue - 01/12/09

JOHANNESBURG, 25 November 2009 (PlusNews) - That women and girls are particularly vulnerable to HIV and AIDS is well established, but a new report reveals how little we know about what countries are doing, or not doing, to address their vulnerability.

Finally: UN Agency for Women

Mon - 21/09/09

"Four United Nations agencies and offices will be amalgamated to create a new single entity within the Organization to promote the rights and well-being of women worldwide and to work towards gender equality.

Tradition vs Public Health: Male circumcision in South Africa

Fri - 04/09/09

"The Government's long awaited male circumcision campaign -- aimed at reducing HIV infection -- will be launched by the end of March next year, Yogan Pillay, the deputy director general of health said this week.

But the policy is being strenuously resisted by traditional leaders, who insist that circumcision is a customary, not a health, procedure and that "strangers" will not be allowed to oversee traditional practices.

Some insiders, who have seen the draft policy, believe health department implementation could happen as early as December this year.

Male circumcision can reduce a man's risk of contracting HIV by 60%. The foreskin contains HIV target cells and is easily abraded during sex, which encourages infection." Read more

Museveni Bans Female Genital Mutilation - Uganda

Wed - 05/08/09

"Museveni's move to ban female circumcision is in line with other countries and organizations that have sought to decrease the prevalence of female circumcision, also known as female genital cutting or female genital mutilation. The practice involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia and creates scar tissue that can cause complications during labor.

But in nearby Kenya and Tanzania, where female genital mutilation is illegal, the practice is still rampant because people are not sensitized to the health consequences of circumcision and laws are not enforced, said Godfrey Odongo, an Amnesty International Uganda researcher." Read more

NEW Radical Plan to end AIDS: ABC NOT WORKING

Tue - 09/06/09

Meeting under the aegis of the global citizen summit in Nairobi from May 27- 29 and representing 32 nations of the world, the citizens endorsed a HIV universal testing plan, the WHO/UNAIDS proposed Provider Initiated Testing and Counseling, increased accountability on HIV funds and sustainable financing for HIV response strategies. Read more or for other conclusions of the summit click here.

Rape in Swaziland

Tue - 12/05/09

Swaziland is one of the countries hardest hit by AIDS: 26 percent of the adult population is infected. The myth, persistent in Africa, that a man can be “cleansed” of AIDS by sex with a virgin puts girls at particular risk, said the authors of a study published in the Lancet report that rape victims had higher lifetime risks of venereal diseases, pregnancy complications and depression. Read more

Events

World Economic Forum on Africa 2009

The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial

2009 HIV/AIDS Implementers Meeting

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