Women, she charged, are diagnosed later in their disease than men, die sooner than men following diagnosis and are treated less equitably. The pandemic is composed of multiple subepidemics, she explained, and in women and girls, the infection rate is exploding. In the age group 10-29, women are being infected at a much higher rate than men, she said. Ninety-one percent of those infected who are under age 13 in the U.S. are girls.
Women are powerless in many economies.
Simmons read two alarming biographies from a text she coedited with Drs. Only by examining the social and economic forces shaping the AIDS pandemic can successful interventions be imagined, she argued. That's just ridiculous. And there are lots of poor places that don't even have condoms. Only by combining our insights will we be able to get a better grip on the epidemic.