To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS) published a viewpoint, “Community leadership is key to effective HIV service engagement for female sex workers in Africa”. It is authored by Primrose Matambanadzo, Lilian Otiso, Sibonile Kavhaza, Parinita Bhattacharjee and Frances M. Cowan.
Despite progress in HIV prevention and treatment across central, eastern, southern and western Africa, female sex workers remain among the most affected yet underserved population in this region. They face a unique set of challenges that hinder their access to essential HIV services, which is further exacerbated by stigma, discrimination and the criminalization of sex work.
The viewpoint highlights the need to overcome these challenges by ensuring that HIV services are tailored to meet the specific needs of female sex workers and are led by the community itself. The authors advocate for increased investment to equip and strengthen community-led and person-centred programmes that are guided by the recommendations and needs of sex worker communities.
Read the viewpoint here.
Source : JIAS
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