At IPPF our goal is to reduce the global incidence of HIV and fully protect the rights of people living with HIV.
Operating from the belief that ‘access=life’, our HIV work offers a continuity of services from prevention to treatment, care and support and is based around four key objectives:
1. Reducing HIV-related stigma
2. Providing prevention services
3. Expanding treatment, care and support
4. Linking sexual and reproductive health and HIV
More than two million people died of AIDS related illnesses in 2007 and another two and a half million were diagnosed with HIV, bringing the total number of people living with HIV and AIDS to 33.2 million.
This means that each day over 6,800 people contract HIV and over 5,700 die from AIDS related illnesses - primarily due to inadequate access to HIV prevention and treatment services.
Most worryingly, it is the groups who are most stigmatized in society that are disproportionately affected by HIV:
- men who have sex with men
- sex workers
- people who use drugs
- young women and girls
At IPPF we strive to increase access to prevention, treatment, care and support and reduce the barriers, such as stigma and discrimination, which make people vulnerable to infection.
We respond to the unique regional and national characteristics of the epidemic.
We do this by:
• providing women with family planning services
• empowering young women and girls through life skills and vocational training
• managing sexually transmitted infections
• proactively involving men and boys
• increasing access to condoms
• addressing the sexual and reproductive health needs of people living with HIV
• providing antiretroviral treatment