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Positive women

Globally, women and girls now make up more than half of all people living with HIV. Women face particular challenges in dealing with HIV — they may experience different illnesses and treatment side effects, for example, and women who become pregnant must take special precautions to prevent transmission of HIV to their children.

NAPWHA's Positive Women's Network ensures that the voices of positive women are heard and valued in our national response to HIV and within our communities.

Key resources

Common Threads
Common Threads

For women living with HIV, the decision to have children can be one of the most difficult choices they make. For women who are diagnosed HIV positive at the time they are becoming mothers, those decisions can be especially urgent and confronting. In her book, KARALYN McDONALD shares the stories of several women who have dealt with the twin realities of pregnancy and diagnosis.

A review of reproductive health research, guidelines and related gaps for women living with HIV
AIDS Care cover

A paper titled 'A review of reproductive health research, guidelines and related gaps for women living with HIV' has been published in AIDS Care.

A review of reproductive health research, guidelines and related gaps for women living with HIV

Resource • 22 November 2012

A paper titled 'A review of reproductive health research, guidelines and related gaps for women living with HIV' has been published in AIDS Care. read more »

Women poorly represented in HIV drug trials

Positive Living article • Healthcanal.com • 31 August 2012
Positive women

Women comprise nearly half of the HIV positive population worldwide, but these 15.5 million women tend to be under-represented in clinical trials of HIV drug therapies. read more »

Tenofovir safe in pregnancy

Positive Living article • PLoS Medicine • 8 June 2012
Treating HIV

Being exposed to tenofovir before birth appears to have no adverse effects on babies born to HIV positive mothers in Africa, a recent study reports. read more »

Sexual dilemmas

Positive Living article • David Menadue • 7 June 2012

Whenever you talk sex with other positive people there always seems to be an elephant in the room. And I’m not talking about jumbo appendages or huge sexual appetites, either.

That elephant, of course, is unprotected sex. read more »

Report on female condom advocacy events by Femfatales members on the WAD 2011

Report • Graham Stocks • 5 April 2012

2011 WAD saw the Positive Women’snetwork heavily involved in awareness raising activities around the female condom. read more »

Natural conception possible for sero-disco couples?

Positive Living article • Neil McKellar-Stewart • 2 March 2012

For many heterosexual couples, where one is infected with HIV (serodiscordant or ‘sero-disco’), having children has been full of challenges. However, results from recent major trials in sero-disco couples are offering new hope. In cases where the male partner is sero-positive, standard practice in many developed countries has been to use the assisted reproduction technique of intrauterine insemination with processed sperm (‘sperm washing’). read more »

What’s your Problem

Positive Living article • Dr Louise Owen • 27 May 2011

Doctor Louise answers readers' questions. In this issue she discusses positive male fertility and lack of libido. read more »

National Network of Women Living with HIV work plan 2011-12

Story • Scott Lockhart • 26 May 2011
Positive women

The National Network of Women Living with HIV work plan for 2011 to 2012 is now out and available for information. read more »

Positive Women's Network presentation to NAPWHA AGM

Story • Katherine Leane • 16 December 2010
Positive women

Chair of the Positive Women's Network, Katherine Leane gave a presentation on the activities of the Network to the NAPWHA AGM in November this year. read more »

Tales from the network

Positive Living article • Cipri Martinez • 2 December 2010

There is a Network of Workers located at AIDS Councils and PLHIVPerson (or people) Living with HIV. This term is now preferred over the older PLWHAPerson (or People) Living with HIV/AIDS.. Organisations around Australia, who understand the variety of treatment issues faced by positive people. We call them the Treataware Outreach Network (TON).

As an HIV positive peer support worker, Cipri Martinez sees a variety of people with a lot of different issues. And being able to help them out, he says, is what makes his job worthwhile. read more »

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HIV Clinical Trials update

Recently updated entries from the NAPWHA Clinical Trials database.

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