Publications

The necessity of a manual for sample collection, transport and storage was a long felt need in the STI and HIV field. This manual was prepared to fulfill that need and as an initial step of the journey towards accreditation of laboratories for STI and HIV. Streamlining the quality management systems in laboratory sector is very essential in reaching the goals of elimination of mother to child transmission of Syphilis and HIV and in ending AIDS by 2025. It is expected that this manual to be a corner stone in improving the quality of laboratory testing.

In many societies, girls are under pressure to marry and bear children early. In low- and middle-income countries, over 30% of girls marry before they are 18 years of age; around 14% before the age of 15. Early marriage generally leads to early child bearing, in accordance with social norms. In many places girls choose to become pregnant because they have limited educational and employment prospects and given that motherhood is valued, marriage/union and child bearing may be the best of the limited options they have.

Family planning has clear health benefits, since the prevention of unintended pregnancies results in a subsequent decrease in maternal morbidity and mortality. Contraception allows spacing of pregnancies, delaying pregnancies in young girls who are at increased risk of health problems from early childbearing, and preventing pregnancies among older women who also face increased risks. Contraception enables women who wish to limit the size of their families to do so. By reducing rates of unintended pregnancies, contraception also reduces the need for unsafe abortion. Contraception is a low-cost and effective way to save lives.

FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person’s rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.

Maternal mortality is unacceptably high. Estimates for 2017 show that some 810 women die every day from pregnancy- or childbirth-related complications around the world. In 2017, 295 000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth. The vast majority occurred in low-resource settings, and most could have been prevented.

Any woman with an unwanted pregnancy who cannot access safe abortion is at risk of unsafe abortion. Women living in low-income countries and poor women are more likely to have an unsafe abortion than more affluent women. Deaths and injuries are higher when unsafe abortion is performed later in pregnancy. The rate of unsafe abortions is higher where access to effective contraception and safe abortion is limited or unavailable.

STIs have a profound impact on sexual and reproductive health worldwide. More than 1 million sexually transmitted infections occur every day. Each year, an estimated 376 million infections occur with one of four curable STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and trichomoniasis. More than 500 million people are living with genital herpes infection. Approximately 300 million women have HPV infection and numbers among men are likely as high.

The health sector has an important role to play in addressing violence against women by providing comprehensive health services including for sexual and reproductive health, providing referrals to other support services; gathering evidence through data and research; fostering prevention policies in other sectors; and advocating for violence against women to be recognized as a public health problem and for resource allocation.

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to national AIDS programmes and partners on the use of indicators to measure and report on the country HIV response. The 2016 Political Declaration on Ending AIDS was adopted at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS in June 2016. Built on three previous political declarations—the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS and the 2011 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Intensifying Our Efforts to Eliminate HIV and AIDS—the 2016 Political Declaration on Ending AIDS mandates UNAIDS to support countries in reporting on the commitments it contains.

WHO recommends that pregnant women receive testing for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B (HBSAg) at least once during pregnancy, preferably in the first trimester. Dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) can be used as the first test for pregnant women as part of antenatal care (ANC). These simple tests can be used at the point-of-care and are cost-saving compared to standard testing in ANC. They enable more women to be diagnosed with HIV and syphilis so that they can access treatment and prevent transmission to their children.