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Loading...What do HIV and family planning have in common?
A few weeks ago when talking about family planning in relation to World AIDS Day someone asked me, “What does family planning have to do with HIV?” I think I must have looked at her like she had five heads. What do HIV and family planning have to do with one another? Everything! Particularly in the developing world.
Let’s cut right to the chase…both start with sex. HIV is primarily contracted through sexual intercourse and last I checked, it’s pretty hard to get pregnant unless you have sex (modern technology aside). Both also require preventive efforts to avoid. You can abstain from sex or use barrier contraceptive methods. Both also disproportionately affect women. Because of female anatomy, women are more susceptible to HIV infection (more than 60% of those infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa are female) and surprise, surprise, women are the only ones who get pregnant (unless you’re Arnold Schwarzenegger in Junior). And both HIV and family planning, at least in the US, are generally discussed with the same doctor—your gynecologist or family physician.
In the US, perhaps there isn’t as much thought about the two of these paired together—especially for faithful, married couples. But imagine being a woman in rural Kenya. You’re a married mother of three struggling to support your family. You are unsure if your husband is being faithful when he goes to work in the city far away for weeks at a time, but you can’t ask him to use a condom, for fear he’ll accuse you of infidelity. He also wants more children and doesn’t want you to use any type of contraception. You’re worried about both contracting a sexually transmitted infection such as HIV and planning your family.
And what happens if you become pregnant? If your village is fortunate enough to have a clinic, you may go in to receive prenatal care and HIV counseling and testing. You discover you’re HIV positive. You become concerned about passing along HIV to your children. You may also worry about the toll HIV and pregnancy may take on your already depleted system.
Each woman’s story varies, but there is most certainly a link for many women between HIV and family planning. Unfortunately services and information aren’t always integrated. In many areas of the world, there may be one clinic for HIV treatment and care, and another where you get your family planning services. Or, because of increased donor attention and funding, there may be a clinic for HIV, but it doesn’t include family planning information.
This World AIDS Day is focused on access and rights. At the organization where I work, Pathfinder International, that means much more than access to preventing HIV and the right to treatment and care. That means all women should have the right and access to integrated reproductive health care services—family planning; HIV prevention, treatment, and care; obstetric injury and infection diagnosis and treatment to name a few.
World AIDS Day provides a unique opportunity to shed light on the global AIDS pandemic. And it is certainly important that we pause and acknowledge the great need that still exists to eradicate this disease. But let’s not do so at the expense of addressing the full range of reproductive health care needs that women and men have throughout the world. After all, it’s not like each time a woman uses contraception she thinks ‘this time I’ll prevent HIV and next time I’ll focus on not getting pregnant.’
Read more: birth control, contraception, family planning, health policy, hiv, reproductive health, world aids day
Photo by Sarah Day
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+ add your ownWomen are people too - not 'the other' - not second class planetary inhabitants.. Certain traditions have had a stranglehold on women's awareness & ability to see ourselves as equal cohabitants of Earth.These family planning tools are essential & must be maintained to negotiate our own lives as well as make conscious choices about our futures & our own needs & health. Going against this is just an excuse to keep women down & keep mom-wives incessantly pregnant & serving others. More choices, more options, more platforms for our voices, more power for women everywhere.
May be we can get togehter at STDloves com for HIV talk!!!
Thanks for lighting this issue in a good way.
Demographic studies show that only when an increasing number of children reach adulthood will the birth numbers drop, because it is still children who take care of their parents in their old days.
So integrating these two (and child health care) is important to get a grip of the overpopulation of earth.
Myra pretty much summed it up. Loved the way you put it!
very sad, but true article. definitely shed some well deserved light on a terrible situation.
HIV information is something one must know in order to keep themselves free from any complication that may arise. One of the health problems that makes scientist continue their experiment is finding vaccines to cure HIV virus. This virus is commonly transferred to an individual through sexual contact such as vaginal sex, anal sex, and oral sex. HIV can also cause heart and brain damage to humans.
HIV and family planning definately go hand in hand and the use of condoms is absolutely essential in both.
Danielle, I am with you. I never understood those religious fanatics who try to prevent women from using birth control or having babies. Those religious nuts aren't going to pay the expectant mother's living expenses, or the cost to support the child, so they should stay out of it.
I recognize that there is a lot of religious scripture to preserve life and that they feel they are doing G-d's will. However, if any of them ever read the bible, they would realize that it does NOT say anywhere that G-d gives them Agency to be His enforcers in that matter or tht G-d charges anyone in any faith to condemn those who act against Him. He is big enough to handle it Himself. As far as I'm concerned, antiabortionists who blow up clinics or murder doctors should be treated as murderers, and then let G-d punish them in the afterlife for pretending to be Him. You don't like abortion or birth control, don't use them Teach the women in your family how to say no and teach the men not to pursue it. This is NOT a woman only situation. It takes 2. Men have to stop being sex hounds. Men have to start wearing condoms at all sexual encounters except when planning to make a baby with a wife. We have to make all of society realize the good in that and that protected sex is the true badge of honor instead of all the girls he can nail. We have to make the same protections all over the world. We are all responsible for everyone on this planet. Let's fix it together.
Well said Robinah.
I am fully with you - Family Planning and HIV prevention go hand in hand. We shall be doing a di-service if we do not talk about HIV prevention during FP counselling and vise versa.By the way, young people fear pregnancy more than HIV, so why not re-position the condom as an FP tool. Then we shall hit both and it will be more effective. thanks Jaimie
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