The Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr Asha Rose Migiro said that ‘we cannot solve any challenge facing our world without looking at how women are affected and can be part of the solution…change is needed that will enable women to take their full place at the decision making table’.

These words were echoed by the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), Dr Peter Piot, who urged that ‘women must be at the table where AIDS programmes are being decided’.

Noting that the most significant development in the global AIDS epidemic has been its growing feminisation, Dr Piot said that ‘this trend of feminisation is transforming the AIDS epidemic and now it must equally transform our response.’

He called upon the AIDS movement to address gender inequality as a priority saying that ‘we have no choice but to embrace gender equality. The cost is far too high’.

General Secretary of the World YWCA, Dr Musimbi Kanyoro, who initiated the conference to respond to the growing feminisation of HIV and AIDS, said that the Summit was about ‘asking for space at the table, for resources and for the protection of the human rights of women and girls’.

His Excellency Hon Mwai Kibaki, President of Kenya, who officially opened the Summit, called for a redoubling of efforts to overcome the ‘challenges that condemn women to a vicious cycle of poverty and violence’. He said that ‘the negative practices that constrain the girl child and women from realising their full potential’ must be fought.

Dr Migiro said that ‘real positive change that will give more power to women and girls’ is needed and key changes required to address the impact of HIV and AIDS on women and girls included the education of girls, increased job opportunities for women, rights to land ownership and inheritance, access to antiretroviral treatment and a range of legal and social reforms.

Secretary General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Margaret Chan said that ‘poverty, gender inequality and intimate partner violence fuel this epidemic’. She noted that traditional attitudes towards women and girls change over generations, but that ‘this epidemic gives us no such luxury of time. The chains of tradition that hold women back can be broken’. Dr Chan pointed to successful micro financing initiatives that have enabled women to rise out of poverty and be self reliant.

Dr Chan put the issue of sustainability on the agenda saying that ‘we have been struggling with this for a quarter of a century. We are in this for the long haul and we must never loose sight of sustainability’.

Dr Piot also called for a longer term view of the epidemic saying that ‘we need to sustain an effective AIDS programme over decades, even generations, and this will require sustained resources’.

President of the World YWCA, Mónica Zetzsche noted that since 1999 the World YWCA had made HIV and AIDS a global priority for its work in 125 countries and was committed over the long term to address the impact of HIV and AIDS on women and girls.

The Opening of the Summit also stressed the importance of collaboration among all stakeholders in the future AIDS response.

Outgoing chairperson of the International Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS, Marie-Jo Vasquez said that ‘HIV is not a topic that belongs only to HIV positive women. There is a need to strengthen the link between the women’s movement and the HIV positive women’s movement. There is a need to strengthen links among women, regardless of HIV positive status’.

Dr Migiro also emphasised that ‘only when we work together, can we fight HIV and AIDS’. She called for sustained leadership at the highest levels as well as creative leadership from civil society groups.

Speaking on behalf of civil society organisations, Dr Helene Gayle, CEO of Care USA said that the way forward must include increased partnership between government and civil society. She noted that ‘civil society can help shape responses by galvanising communities and holding governments accountable for responding to HIV and AIDS’.

Another key message coming out of the Summit was a push to scale up existing efforts. ‘We still have to make the leap from project to programme’ said Dr Migiro, and ‘accountability and a drive to achieve measurable results’ must be part of the way forward.

The Summit has been hailed a defining moment in the global fight against HIV and AIDS.

‘‘It is creating a powerful synergy, an unstoppable alliance to challenge the AIDS epidemic and the inequality that puts women and girls at risk of HIV’, said Dr Piot.

Full speeches can be downloaded from the World YWCA website.