UNODC Brazil organizes meeting on HIV prevention and care for woman who use drugs 

Photo: Naná Prudêncio

Brasília, 14 July 2022 - From 27 to 30 June, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Brazil, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) Campus Baixada Santista held the National Meeting on HIV Combined Prevention and care for women who use drugs. The event was held in Santos (SP) and brought together representatives from public management, academia and civil society, as well as international organizations and the public.

The goal of the three-day meeting was to develop a comprehensive set of recommendations aimed at addressing the barriers that women who use alcohol and other drugs face in accessing prevention, diagnosis, and treatment regarding HIV.

"In a country as large as Brazil, we must be attentive to women who face intersections of vulnerabilities so that they are not left behind. Among them, women who use alcohol and other drugs, so that they can have broad access to services and support appropriate to their needs and be included in HIV-related decision-making," explained UNODC's social protection supervisor in Brazil.

The meeting is aligned with the new HIV and AIDS Policy Statement: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030 and the Global AIDS Strategy 2021 - 2026, which aims to break down barriers to achieving HIV outcomes, with a focus on community-led responses, human rights, gender equality and youth. Among the targets of the Strategy is to ensure that 95% of women have access to sexual and reproductive health services by 2026.

Photo: Naná Prudêncio

For Luciana Surjus, a professor in the post-graduate program in Public Policy at UNIFESP and leader of the research and extension group Div3rso, the university needs to be committed to responding to the issues around woman and HIV. During the event, Surjus noted that, "bringing together all these cis and trans women producers of knowledge that resist experiences of violence shows the real possibility that we can join forces to be able to inform a public policy that protects, listens and responds to the needs of women".

Watch the video of the National Meeting on Combined HIV Prevention and lines of care for women who use drugs.

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To learn more: http://www.agenda2030.com.br/  

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