Source: Jeffrey O'Malley
Gender inequality and the HIV epidemic are inextricably linked, particularly in countries most affected by the HIV epidemic.  Addressing gender and HIV in isolation from each other is unlikely to sufficiently accelerate and sustain progress on either, t hereby putting attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at risk.  At the same time the gender, HIV and development landscapes are changing in response to new opportunities and pressures, including the global economic crisis. New strategies are needed that respond to this changing landscape.
One such strategy is the AIDS and MDGs approach, which deepens and deliberately leverages the links between AIDS and the other MDGs, particularly that on gender equality, in order to catalyze greater progress for gender, HIV and broader development. The AIDS and MDGs approach has three pillars: (1) understanding how AIDS and the other MDGs impact on one another, recognizing the central role gender inequalities play in driving the epidemic as well as the gender impacts of AIDS; (2) documenting and exchanging lessons learned across MDGs; and (3) creating cross-MDG synergy, particularly at the intersection of gender, poverty and AIDS. The attached publication from UNDP and UNAIDS describes these pillars, referencing national MDG reports, synthesizing the latest research, and highlighting compelling case examples, such as innovative conditional cash transfers and microfinance programs to empower women and reduce their risk of HIV infection. The publication also describes opportunities for health and development partners to take this approach forward. A more detailed, peer-reviewed version of the AIDS and MDGs publication with a Foreword1 from the UN Secretary General has been published in the February 2011 edition of Third World Quarterly (see second and third attachments) 1 This Foreword first appeared in Third World Quarterly, 32(1), 2011, pp. 1-2, and is reproduced here by permission of Southseries Inc.