Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what priority her Department's strategy on women and girls accords to tackling HIV and AIDS.

HIV affects girls and women disproportionately, and a world without AIDS depends on a world where a girl’s rights and opportunities are protected. Until countries can work together to strengthen the sexual and reproductive rights of girls and women and deliver the services they need we will never achieve greater gender equality or end the AIDS epidemic.

AIDS is the leading cause of death for women of reproductive age - with an estimated 330,000 AIDS related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015 alone. This is why universal sexual and reproductive health and rights is a central pillar of DFID’s Strategic Vision. As a leading champion of sexual reproductive health and rights DFID takes the broadest possible definition which supports the integration of HIV with family planning and other SRHR services.

With UK support, gender equality is now a major pillar of the Global Fund’s Strategic Framework. The Global Fund invests an estimated 55-60% of its resources in programmes and services that reach women and children. DFID is also supporting the generation of new evidence to improve outcomes for women and girls, including supporting the development of female initiated HIV prevention technologies.