Talking Points for District Meetings on HR=HW

Purpose of Meetings with Congressional Offices

• To bring the powerful voices of health professional students to members of Congress.  Your firsthand experiences and professional expertise provides a compelling and unique perspective.
• To heighten awareness in key Congressional offices about the global feminization of HIV and the factors that make women vulnerable to HIV infection.
• To educate Congressional offices about the critical importance of rights-based health systems, of an educated and empowered health workforce, and of comprehensive HIV prevention programs.
• To show that there is a constituency willing to fight for the human right to health.
• To establish a connection with your Congressional delegation as a possible resource in future.
• To demand  that Congress consider women's rights as they review and formulate global AIDS policies.

Talking Points For Meetings With Congressional Offices:

Introduce yourself and your connection to the Physicians for Human Rights Health Action AIDS Campaign.

• Women and young girls presently comprise more than 60% of those who are living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the numbers are continuing to grow.
• Presently, the global response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic is failing women. In particular, the current ABC approach to prevention and limited access to lifesaving care and treatment.

1. Rights-Based Health Systems: Addressing the health crisis in the poorest countries requires building public health systems that are capable of providing basic and comprehensive health services, especially for women and children.
   1. Women and girls too often face issues of stigma and disempowerment when trying to access health care services. HIV prevention and care services should be "women and girl-friendly", ensure confidentiality, provide protection, and be safe from discrimination.
   2. Women often receive fragmented services and episodic care. The right to health demands that health systems be available, accessible, comprehensive and of good quality.
   3. Health systems in developing countries often operate in isolation and do not provide a bridge between medical care and social services. The right to health demands that governments address both the underlying social determinants of poor health and the health system itself.
2. Comprehensive Prevention Programs: Focusing on abstinence, being faithful and using condoms (ABC) does not take into consideration the unequal power dynamics present in marriages and societies around the world. Prevention programs must take into account the structural inequalities which leave women vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.
   • The current ABC model does not address the dire human rights issues at the core of the epidemic, nor does it recognize women's unique vulnerability to the disease.
   • Comprehensive programs must go beyond abstinence, being faithful and using condoms to also:
     1. "D" - Defend women's rights and end Discrimination;
     2. "E" - Educate and economically empower women;
     3. "F" - provide Freedom of movement and Food sufficiency.
3. Educated and Empowered Health Workers: Health workers drive the public health system, yet many do not get the training or support they need to promote women's rights and health. Programs must include both training and implementation of these rights—based interventions:
   • Comprehensive HIV prevention messaging and counseling.
   • Recognition that women have sexual and reproductive rights.
   • Identification of patients who are victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse and how to effectively respond to such situations.
   • Understand of the importance of a strong, well integrated health care system.
   • Access to information regarding community resources that provide essential linkages to services.
   • Anti-sigma awareness and sensitivity training.