ABSTRACT
The literature on women and development extends back almost as far as the literature on development itself. The main focus of human immune virus programmes to date has been the prevention of the further transmission of the virus, this chapter focuses on sexual transmission since, for women, this is the overwhelming way in which women become infected. Women may be culturally or socially constrained from using sexually transmitted disease -dedicated services, or even from seeking treatment for a genital condition. The collective voices and actions of women to be called upon can range from the national machineries for women and national women’s organizations, all the way to groupings of women at the village level. The supportive services required by seropositive women will be more than drugs and medical care. The displacement of women’s work from parenting, from productive activities and from community work to care for the sick will have immense consequences within the families and communities.
