2020 Articles

How the #MeToo Movement Can Help End the HIV Epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa

Mathur, Ishani

For years, United States foreign HIV aid has been dictated by the need to share our resources with the less fortunate. One such program, U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), spent 5.2 billion dollars in FY2017 on HIV/AIDS programs in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a substantial sum, accounting for almost 11% of U.S. foreign aid. Yet its effectiveness is up for debate; 92% of the world’s infected women still live in sub-Saharan Africa, with a new girl contracting HIV every minute.

To effectively utilize taxpayer dollars and halt this epidemic, the United States must grow within its international aid. No longer can we inefficiently throw billions of dollars at the issue and hope that primary prevention through medical recourse is enough. The persistent, disproportionate spread of the virus within the female population suggests that it is time to account for a woman’s perspective when tackling HIV. To do this, we need to present the lessons learned from our current moment of reckoning: the #MeToo movement.