The Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom established a WHO Advisory Group of Women Living with HIV in April 2019. His vision for the group is to ensure that the voices and experiences of women living with HIV are well reflected in health policies and programmes, so that the respect for human rights and gender equality remain the grounding principles for the HIV and broader health agendas.
The group comprises a diverse set of members representing women living with HIV from around the world. On 29–31 October 2019, the advisory group will convene its first face-to-face meeting at WHO headquarters. On the agenda are key issues affecting women living with HIV, as well as policies and approaches related to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), HIV and broader health issues.
Membership of the advisory group was developed following an open call for interest, and builds on past collaboration between women living with HIV and different WHO departments. The members must be able to advise WHO and share a range of perspectives on key issues, including sexual orientation and gender identities; women who use drugs; women who engage in sex work; women from a broad age range including young women and women born with HIV; and women who have experienced multiple forms of discrimination, including in health care settings.
The advisory group members include: Mariana Iacono (Argentina), Erika Castellanos (Belize), Doris Peltier (Canada), Anandi Yurava (India), Baby Rivona Nasution (Indonesia), Consolata Achien Opiyo (Kenya), Phelister Abdalla (Kenya), Rita Wahab (Lebanon), Sita Banjade Shahi (Nepal), Priscilla Ingbian Simon (Nigeria), Maura Elaripe (Papua New Guinea), Sasha Volgina (the Russian Federation), Florence Anam (South Africa), Margaret Happy (Uganda), Valeriia Rachynska (Ukraine), Silvia Petretti (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), Cecilia Chung (the United States of America), and Loyce Maturu (Zimbabwe). The group identified Sophie Dilmitis (Zimbabwe) as its first chair. She will oversee the objectives and activities of the advisory group and chair the face-to-face meeting.
The first meeting will enable the advisory group to exchange experiences and create space to:
- discuss specific WHO work and key priorities;
- agree how best to review and monitor WHO progress in addressing the SRHR of women living with HIV – especially where women continue to face barriers in accessing health care and services; and
- identify key priorities from the perspectives of diverse women living with HIV.