Unveiling Vulnerabilities

It’s 25 days till World AIDS Day 2009….

Did you know that there  is a difference between “risk” and “vulnerability”?

According to the research, “Unveiling HIV Vulnerabilities: Filipino Migrant Workers in the Arab States”, a  research done by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),  ”risk” and “vulnerability” are two terms that need to be understood in the acquisition of HIV. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has  defined “risk” as a probability that an individual may acquire an HIV infection. There are specific behaviors that define risk and these include multiple unprotected sexual partnerships, unprotected sexual contact  with a partner whose HIV status is unknown,  and injecting  drug use with contaminated needles and syringes.

“Vulnerability” is defined as a variety of factors that decrease that ability of a person or community to avoid HIV infection. The three factors that have been identified by UNAIDS to individually or in combination create or exacerbate vulnerability include: personal factors such as the lack of knowledge and skills required to protect oneself and others; factors that are related to the quality and coverage of the services, such as the inaccessibility of services due to distance, cost, and other factors; societal factors like social and cultural norms, practices, beliefs. The final factor includes the laws that stigmatize and disempower some groups of people, which also acts as barriers to fundamental HIV prevention messages.

Information sourced from: “Unveiling HIV Vulnerabilities: Filipino Migrant Workers in the Arab States”: page 16