NEW YORK, USA - Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development minister Monica Mutsvangwa has urged countries in southern Africa and the global community to intensify efforts in tackling the structural drivers of women and girls’ vulnerability to HIV and gender inequality.
Mutsvangwa made the call during a Southern African Development Community (Sadc) side event at the ongoing 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) here in New York.
Speaking under the theme “Beijing+30: Taking Stock of CSW Resolution 60/2; Keeping the Promise for Women and Girls”, Minister Mutsvangwa, representing Zimbabwe as the current Sadc chair, noted that the Sadc region remains heavily burdened by HIV, with women and girls disproportionately affected due to socio-economic and gender inequalities.
“The Sadc region continues to bear the biggest brunt of HIV and Aids, with 17 million people - 44% of the global total - living with HIV, and six million of whom are yet to be put on life-saving treatment,” she stated.
Mutsvangwa said poverty, inequality, and harmful societal practices continue to fuel the HIV epidemic among women and girls in southern Africa.
“The complex interplay of social, economic, and structural drivers increases the HIV vulnerability of women and girls. These factors deprive women and girls of a voice and the ability to make decisions regarding their lives,” she said.
She commended the adoption of CSW Resolution 60/2 on Women, the Girl Child and HIV at the 60th session of the commission and noted that it acknowledges the vulnerabilities of adolescent girls and young women stemming from unequal power dynamics and gender-based violence.
“Mitigating gender inequality and enhancing efforts for women’s economic empowerment in the HIV response is key,” she told delegates who included Sadc Parliamentary Forum secretary-general Boemo Sekgoma.
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Mutsvangwa also called for sustained focus on women’s rights to health and socio-economic well-being as nations reflect on progress towards the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted 30 years ago.
“I, therefore, call for Sadc countries and the global community to double up their commitment in sufficiently addressing the structural drivers of vulnerability for women and girls,” she said, adding, “This can be done through joint efforts of government, multilateral partners, civil society organizations, and public-private partnerships.”
“As we look towards the future, let us remain steadfast in our commitment to addressing the intersections between gender and HIV and maintaining attention on women's right to health and their socio-economic well-being,” the minister stated.
Speaking at the same event, Kelly Dambuza-Chifani, representing the Sadc secretariat, highlighted gender inequalities driving HIV infections, gender-based violence (GBV), and teenage pregnancies in the region.
She called for renewed efforts and accountability in keeping the promise of gender equality for women and girls.
She highlighted progress made under CSW Resolution 60/2 but noted challenges that remain.
“Sadc has made great strides in aligning its Protocol on Gender and Development with global and continental commitments, including the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and Agenda 2063,” Dambuza-Chifani said.
She noted that persistent gender inequalities, economic disparities, and harmful social norms continue to place women and girls at heightened risk of HIV, violence, and early pregnancies.
She shared stark statistics showing that in 2021, 99 adolescents aged 10-19 became infected with HIV every week. Adolescent girls and young women accounted for 30% of new infections among adults, while three times more girls than boys were acquiring HIV weekly in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Gender inequality remains one of the most pervasive forms of inequality globally, deeply impacting the ability of women, girls, and gender-diverse people to prevent infection,” Dambuza-Chifani stressed.
Teenage pregnancy also remains a grave concern, with 13% of young women in developing countries beginning childbearing while still children themselves.
“In east and southern Africa, 36% of girls are married before the age of 18. These early marriages further expose girls to HIV, sexual violence, and loss of education opportunities,” she noted.
The SADC representative acknowledged that the region has adopted several frameworks to tackle these intersecting challenges.
These include the Gender Responsive Oversight Model (GROM), the Sadc Strategy and Framework of Action for Addressing GBV (2018-2030), the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Strategy (2019-2030), and the SRHR Scorecard monitoring progress across 20 indicators.
Dambuza-Chifani also highlighted the role of the Sadc Parliamentary Forum in advancing the development of model laws on Child Marriage and GBV, meant to help member states domesticate regional and international commitments.
“These tools are our commitment to not just policy but action,” she said but argued that legislation alone was not enough as GBV against women and girls remains one of the region’s most pressing concerns despite these efforts.
Addressing the implementation of CSW Resolution 60/2, Dambuza-Chifani reminded participants that the resolution which was adopted in 2016 with Sadc’s leadership was designed to confront the root causes of women and girls’ vulnerability to HIV by tackling gender inequalities.
“The resolution was a global recognition of what we in the Sadc region have known too well -that the most sustainable and effective way to fight HIV and Aids among women and girls is to address gender inequality,” she said.
Key recommendations presented from a recent joint stakeholder meeting included streamlining efforts by selecting two to three priority resolutions from each CSW session, intensifying use of monitoring tools, and enhancing country-level accountability mechanisms. There was also a strong call to reinvigorate and expand the Gender Responsive Oversight Model (GROM) to at least ten countries by 2025.
“We cannot afford to be complacent. We owe it to our women and girls to accelerate implementation, to monitor progress more rigorously, and to ensure that our laws, policies, and programmes are not just paper commitments but living instruments for change. The promise of gender equality must be kept.”
The event was held in collaboration with Frontline Aids, UNAids, UN Women, Sonke Gender Justice, and Y+ Global. It brought together representatives from UN agencies, UNAids, Global Health, youth organisations, civil society, and gender equality advocates to discuss progress, challenges, and actionable strategies to advance the commitments of CSW Resolution 60/2 in the Sadc region.
