The plight of women and girls was the focus of World AIDS Day on December 1.

Now in the third decade of the AIDS epidemic, there are more than 40 million people directly affected, and many hundreds of millions more living with AIDS by way of family or close friends being infected with the Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV). It is this virus that causes AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Infection with HIV does not mean a person has AIDS. A diagnosis of AIDS is made only when the immune system - our body's own mechanism for fighting disease - breaks down, leading to infections and cancers.

Although there is no vaccine or cure for AIDS, effective treatments are available which delay serious illness and improve quality of life. The earlier a person is found to be HIV positive, the earlier treatment can begin. Treatments include medicines to reduce the amount of virus in the body - the so-called antiretroviral drugs, medicines to prevent the serious illnesses associated with AIDS (prophylactic or preventable drugs) and medicines to treat the infections that occur as part of AIDS - these are know as opportunistic infections.

In Australia recent figures show an increase in the rate of newly acquired HIV infection. Most of these infections (around 70%) are among homosexually active men.

However world-wide, young women and girls are more susceptible to HIV than men and boys, with studies showing they can be 2.5 times more likely to be HIV-infected as their male counterparts. Their vulnerability is primarily due to inadequate knowledge about AIDS, insufficient access to HIV prevention services, inability to negotiate safer sex, and a lack of female-controlled HIV prevention methods, such as microbicides.

At the same time, all over the world women do not enjoy the same rights and access to employment, property and education as men. Women and girls are also more likely to face sexual violence, which can accelerate the spread of HIV.

Around half of all people living with HIV in the world are female. This is why HIV-positive women have a unique and valuable role to play, both in society and in fighting HIV and AIDS. Women hold families and communities together and they are a source of great strength in the face of HIV and AIDS.

The majority of HIV infection occurs in Africa but there has been rapid growth of AIDS cases in China, Japan and Indonesia and more generally throughout Asia and some areas of the Pacific.

HIV and AIDS can touch raw nerves in all our communities. The stigma of HIV and AIDS relates to deep taboos within society. For many the disease has a strong association with prolonged illness, death, sex and drug use - issues that many of us find difficult to talk about openly.

Along with general discomfort about discussing these "taboo" issues, many communities also have to deal with high levels of fear, denial and ignorance.

The tagline for the 2004 World AIDS campaign, "Have you heard me today?" seeks to raise awareness about, and help address, the many issues affecting women and girls around HIV and AIDS.

At the organisational level, the Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association (CPA) representing professional associations of pharmacists in more than 40 Commonwealth countries and the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW) have been discussing ways that pharmacists can facilitate treatment, care and support for HIV-positive women and their families.

These discussions have highlighted three areas that require attention: ensuring equitable access to medicines and support services, the need to change community attitudes to HIV/AIDS, and the importance of increased awareness of factual information about AIDS.

If you would like the latest advice about HIV/AIDS you can check out the UNAIDS website or pick up an AIDS fact card from Castletown Chemist.

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