Press Releases
HIV positive young women from across Namibia come together for the first time and demand their rights
The Young Women’s Dialogue brought together 30 young HIV positive women from the 13 regions of Namibia, in Windhoek, 21-25th of January 2008. Organised by ICW, the only international network of HIV positive women, the workshop aimed to develop young HIV positive women’s awareness of their rights and their skills to realise those same rights through advocacy. The women were provided a space to exchange their personal experiences as young, HIV positive women living in Namibia today.
Violence in Kenya and its effect on PLHIV, especially Women and Children
PRESS RELEASE - HAVE WE STOPPED TO THINK OF WHAT COULD BE HAPPENING TO PLHIV’S ESPECIALLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN LIVING WITH THE HIV VIRUS?
ICW Calls for Apology from President Museveni of Uganda
ICW represents over 1000s of HIV positive women around the world. Many are striving to live their lives in the face of extreme stigma, discrimination and misinformation.
Drug company sues PLWAs for the first time
06 - 12 - 2007
Pharmaceutical company Abbott decided to sue PLWAs group Act Up-Paris in response to the April 26th, 2007 netstrike we organized against the drug manufacturer : the first time a drug company has used legal action against us. Yet this strategy will force Abbott to justify its criminal decisions, which are depriving PLWAs in Thaïland of the company’s new drugs, effectively sentencing them to death.
Press Release with GNP+
Global Network of People living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+) & International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS (ICW)
United States recognizes people living with HIV are not a public health threat. Networks of people living with HIV/AIDS support United States President.
Amsterdam/London/New York, December 21, GNP+ and ICW, the only international networks of people living with HIV/AIDS today came out in support of the United States President, who in his World AIDS Day announcement directed two branches of the U.S. administration to request and initiate a new rule that will enable people living with HIV to enter the U.S. on short term visas through a categorical waiver.
“We think this is a positive first step in recognizing that children, women and men living with HIV visiting the U.S. are not a public health threat,” said Fiona Pettitt, Acting International Network Manager of ICW. “It is of great importance that the U.S. government recognizes contributions of people living with HIV to work done in the U.S. to further the global agenda.”
WORLD AIDS DAY 2006 - HIV Positive Women Call for Action
More women are infected with HIV….
"Millions of girls are dying on our watch. The escalating rates of HIV positive girls and young women present the world with a critical moral dilemma and responsibility that demands increased leadership and that employs as little rhetoric as possible. What we need now is practical organization and action." (Mary Robinson, ICW Patron)
UNAIDS statistics on current HIV trends show that in many parts of the world women are more likely to be living with HIV than men. In nearly all countries of the world the number of HIV positive women continues to grow with over one million new infections among women since 2004. (UNAIDS 2006)
HIV testing can have severe consequences, especially for women
14:25:29 EDT Aug 16, 2006
Canadian Press: SHERYL UBELACKER
TORONTO (CP) - A recurring theme at the International AIDS conference this week has been the issue of HIV testing - a tool many say should be ramped up in AIDS-ravaged countries to keep the disease from spreading. But others - among them, former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson - are preaching caution about widespread testing programs, saying the fallout from receiving an HIV-positive result can be devastating in countless ways, especially for women in developing countries.
It’s Time to Deliver for Everyone in Toronto says ICW
With over 4000 members around the world – in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, Russia and Eastern Europe, Europe and North America - ICW is the only global organisation of women living with HIV, run by positive women for positive women.
HIV testing must be kept voluntary and confidential, says ICW
Press release - There is a growing and alarming trend by health service providers around the world to routinely test for HIV unless people say no. At the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto policy-makers will be talking about opt-out and opt-in testing. Some countries are calling for a dramatic increase in opt-out testing. This means if a person does not expressly say no (opt-out), they can be tested for HIV. ICW is critical of opt-out testing.
A shameful campaign that blames HIV positive women should be stopped, says ICW
Makhwapheni is used as an insult in Swazi culture and refers to women who have secret lovers or are mistresses. The Makhwapheni Campaign says that all HIV positive women are Makhwapheni. It blames HIV positive women for being the cause of HIV infection.