WAFRICA AI REPORTHIV in Africa2

WAFRICAWomen of Africa For Resources and Intercultural Community Advancement© Copyright 2005- WAFRCA, Inc. The document is for presentation at the AI Western Regional Conference Meeting. : 

WAFRICA Women of Africa For Resources and Intercultural Community Advancement © Copyright 2005- WAFRCA, Inc. The document is for presentation at the AI Western Regional Conference Meeting. HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA GENDER, POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT 2005 Amnesty International Regional Conference November 11-13 2005 San Francisco, CA Presented by Mariam Tendou Kamara Pharmacist/ ED WAFRICA

– Guinea, West Africa June 2005 WAFRICA Photo: 

– Guinea, West Africa June 2005 WAFRICA Photo

HIV & AIDS IN AFRICA: 

HIV & AIDS IN AFRICA Africa is the region worst affected, with 70 percent of the world’s 42 million infected people. killed 25 million Africans , orphaned more than 12 million others. Each year, 3.2 million Africans – 8,700 Africans every minute — are infected with the HIV virus. Approximately 2.3 million Africans –most of them in the prime of their lives as parents and workers-- are killed by it each year.   In just over a decade, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has reversed many of Africa’s development achievements life expectancy REDUCTION IN SOME COUNTRIES by nearly 40 years / leading cause of death on the continent.

MAP: 

MAP

POVERTY AND WOMEN IN AFRICA: 

POVERTY AND WOMEN IN AFRICA Women are key economic resource 80% of women are farmers More than 40% of women have no access to basic education gender equality+advancement of women= reduction of poverty 50% of women in Africa are married by age 18- and one in three women is in a polygamous marriage Source: UN Millenium Project

POVERTY IMPACT ON WOMEN: 

POVERTY IMPACT ON WOMEN 3 MAIN CAUSES OF DETERIORATION Structural adjustment programs in the 1980’s (shift of costs from the state to the household , at the detriment of social welfare) Civil Conflicts and Wars (8.1 million refugees, displaced persons and post-conflict returnees in Africa in 1997 were women and children . Increased violence against women) the spread of AIDS/HIV (Just over half of the estimated 20 million cases of HIV in Africa are female )

HIV AIDS in AFRICA: Why GENDER ?: 

HIV AIDS in AFRICA: Why GENDER ? Africa is the only continent where HIV Prevalence is higher for women than men. For every 15-19-year-old boy that is infected, there are five to six girls infected in the same age group. Of Africa's 28.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS, 15.5 million (or 55%) are women, constituting 88% of the world's women with HIV/AIDS.

GENDER & POVERTY : 

GENDER & POVERTY Critical Factors Place Gender Issues at the Center of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Africa Risk and Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS: the economic vulnerability of women, COMPROMISED NEHOTIATION OF SEX. The impact of HIV/AIDS differs markedly along gender lines, roles and responsibilities in household and market The pattern of women's and men's roles and relationships in Africa puts women at greater risk. No ACCESS TO TREATMENT, even when Testing is available

Case Study Example: Our Mission to Guinea: 

Case Study Example: Our Mission to Guinea Two Month exploratory Mission to Guinea West Africa May-June 2005 –Officially registered as NGO in Guinea (June 05) Civil society, Rural women and access to resources Informal sector: Informal Networks of Women in Rural Guinea

OUR INITIATIVE IN GUINEA: 

OUR INITIATIVE IN GUINEA African Women from the Diaspora committed to social change in Africa OUR FORMULA FOR SUCCESS: cross cultural competence + true alignment with the struggle of poor women = real access to resources for rural women cross cultural expertise which will focus on helping US based funders committed to social change to gain greater access to grassroots groups of women)

Woman walking with her shoes for sale- CONAKRY DOWNTOWN: 

Woman walking with her shoes for sale- CONAKRY DOWNTOWN

PAFP: 

PAFP LE PROJET D’APPUI AUX FEMMES PAUVRES: PAFP Helping Poor Rural Women Project a two-year capacity building initiative aimed to increase access to resources: capacity building, educational and technical assistance, training to roughly 600 women, 400 young women and 200 young girls

THE PAFPGOALS: 

THE PAFP GOALS direct access to grassroots women Partnership with grassroots women Education and training and Economic Empowerment Advocacy and early engagement of young women Awareness and Dialogue

WAFRICA Objectives 2005-2008: 

WAFRICA Objectives 2005-2008 The Projet d’Appui aux Femmes Pauvres (Helping poor rural women) Guinea West Africa The Women of Africa Resource Center, Oakland CA

THE WARC PROJECT: GOALS: 

THE WARC PROJECT: GOALS To create access for women of Africa through support services To empower, inform and educate women of Africa through the resource library To build, unify and strengthen African communities through the building of intercultural bridges via the Resource center

GUINEA –MAP : 

GUINEA –MAP

Who are the women?: 

Who are the women? Informal groups are mostly comprised of married women, widowers, mothers with no basic education Their work is to primarily to generate an income to help support an average of 7-8 family members And average of 15 women per group They have acquired skills in the IGR

Woman selling eggplants –Kouroussa Guinea: 

Woman selling eggplants –Kouroussa Guinea

FINDINGS: 

FINDINGS absolute lack of integration and participation of younger women between the age of 21 to 35 within the existing networks of women groups both in urban and rural zones The disconnect between the “educated” women and men and the women with no western education Young girls DO NOT go to school. They help the mothers with housework, selling or childcare Specific case-examples of cross-cultural incompetence

OVERALL OBSERVATIONS: 

OVERALL OBSERVATIONS NO direct access to resources, to basic health and basic education Women are generating income. But they work long hours to produce what they do Women are asking for technical assistance –not cash! (various reasons) Women who are working on behalf of rural women are not fairly equipped- not necessarily unethical or corrupted Young women and young girls are facing deep cultural, religious and traditional barriers

OVERALL RECOMMENDATIONS: 

OVERALL RECOMMENDATIONS True partnerships are needed: ones which will empower women at the grassroots. Increase resources and funding towards technical assistance and capacity building, strengthening existing networks so groups meet to share their experiences, work and successes/failures . Educate the Funders and beneficiaries: popular thought in donor countries and in rural communities, cultural competency, cross cultural perspectives.

Recommendations: 

Recommendations INVESTING TIME in rural area means the local grassroots groups and resource persons must be EMPOWERED. We need THEIR HELP to better HELP them Programs targeting the young girls for education and early engagement, especially young unmarried women. Programs targeting women between 21-35 years old for leadership training by practice and by example, participation in the decision making, community dialogue, advocacy and outreach

CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES & GROUPS OR PEOPLE: 

CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES & GROUPS OR PEOPLE Members of the WAFRICA Forum WAFRICA Volunteers/ ADVISORY Board GUINEA Advisors and Support Team AIR FRANCE (for transport, boxes at no cost) South Shore Travel Agency (in Alameda) AIDS Healthcare Foundation for Donations of Condoms and Gloves GLOBAL FUND FOR WOMEN/ Africa Program Groups and agencies in Guinea: CONAG-DCF/ MARWOPNET/ Ministry of Health, Gender, and interior

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION:: 

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Recommendations from UNAIDS Use a Gender Approach: Emphasize the role of women and women's organizations in HIV/AIDS policy development, programming and implementations at all levels of government. Empower Both Men and Women: Engaging men as partners is a critical component in AIDS prevention and care, Expand the Response: Advocate for women's rights as basic human rights. Integrate HIV/AIDS into Health Programs Ensure Good Governance in the Context of HIV/AIDS

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS: 

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS Access to EDUCATION EMPOWERING African Women and Girls by investing time and money over longer periods AFRICAN LED initiatives: African women across the Diaspora and the Continent need to be engaged and empowered to do so AFRICAN Women at the grassroots are not part of the process and the solution! WHY? Help Increase quality of Life, not just treatment medication access! Give a true heart to seropositive women, who find comfort in being cared for!

AFRICA’S INFORMAL SECTOR: Opportunity For Action: 

AFRICA’S INFORMAL SECTOR: Opportunity For Action Africa's informal sector is an "outstanding" example of bottom-up development: 20 per cent of the continent's total economic output and creating as many as 70 per cent of all new jobs this decade Women have a particularly strong presence in the small entrepreneurial ventures that make up the informal sector

ADVOCACY AND OUTREACHat the Grassroots: 

ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH at the Grassroots WE think it is of outmost importance to strenghten COMMUNITY BUILDING AND ADVOCACY- using African based groups to infiltrate informal networks Recommendations by multiple agencies to invest technical and capacity building assistance for African led NGOs, CBOs and grassroots communities Giving Voices to the Voiceless: EVERYONE SPEAKS ON BEHALF OF AFRICA AND AFRICANS EXCEPT African themselves!

THANK YOU : 

THANK YOU The work is in progress This is a real heartfelt experience For this opportunity to share our work and experience FOR QUESTIONS/SUGGESTIONS mariam@wafrica.org www.wafrica.org (510)868-1711