Interview with Sannia Sutherland, Director of Prevention for Jamaica's National HIV/STI Programme

Jamaica's national response to HIV needs to better address the challenges faced by vulnerable persons, according to Sannia Sutherland, the Director of Prevention for Jamaica's National HIV/Sexually Transmitted Infection Programme. Here she highlights the way that higher unemployment levels among women can disproportionately affect their ability to practice safe sex. As she explains, many must choose between buying food for their family, and buying a condom. With women/girls between 15 and 24 three times more likely to be HIV positive than their male counterparts, she believes that the lack of open discussions about sex continues to be a primary barrier to change.Sutherland was one of eight speakers on a UN Women panel at the XIX International AIDS Conference, held from 22 to 27 July in Washington D.C. Attending the International AIDS Conference for the first time as a co-sponsor of UNAIDS, UN Women used the meeting to amplify women's voices and highlight the urgent need for women to be engaged at all levels of leadership in the global HIV/AIDS response.