SRH/HIV integration

Since the 2006 Toronto International AIDS Conference, an increasing number of organizations have spoken out about the need to respect the reproductive rights of women living with HIV/AIDS. A topic that is often neglected - or avoided - has been enabling HIV-positive women to deal with unwanted pregnancies through emergency contraception and voluntary safe legal abortion.

If we stand for basic human rights, we should stand for the rights of those living with HIV and AIDS, not because we hope they will have fewer children, but because they also deserve sexual and reproductive health and justice.

By virtue of their experience in providing a range of services -- including, sometimes, HIV services -- reproductive health service providers could make a significant contribution in closing the gap in HIV prevention.