How Rise Clubs In South Africa Are Fighting Global Health Injustices & Saving Lives

Not so long ago, when a young woman in South Africa wanted accurate information about how to protect herself from HIV, there was nowhere to go. The legacy of discrimination, gender inequity, and poverty has meant that today, in some of the hardest-hit communities, young women are 6x more likely to contract HIV than men. This is where Rise Clubs come in.

Rise Clubs provide critical safe spaces for women and girls to access life-saving health information and offer a platform to have difficult and often stigmatized conversations while building resilience among peer networks. First founded as a response to the high rates of HIV infection among teenage girls and young women in South Africa, Rise Clubs link young women with essential services such as HIV testing and counseling, antiretroviral therapy, sexual reproductive health services, and educational and economic opportunities.

It stands true that women and girls are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. Women and girls account for more than half of people living with HIV globally. Factors like poverty, gender inequality, gender-based violence, and insufficient access to education and sexual and reproductive health services put young women and girls at an increased risk of infection. Nearly 700 young women contract HIV every day.

Rise Clubs are a beneficiary of the Global Fund, one of the largest and most effective public health partnerships on the planet, and (RED) has funded Global fund grants in South Africa for 16 years and counting. (RED) is proud to support Rise Clubs and help further their fight against gender inequality and discrimination. HIV continues to thrive not because we don’t know how to prevent or treat it, but because of systemic injustices, like gender inequality, that stand in the way of accessing health services.

Next month in New York City, the U.S. government will host the Global Fund Replenishment — the organization’s triannual funding conference which will determine how much money organizations like Rise Clubs receive over the next three years. If the replenishment target is met, the Global Fund anticipates a 72% reduction in HIV cases among adolescent girls and young women in the most affected countries. Organizations like Rise Clubs will be integral to achieving that goal, but they need funding to do so.

Since its founding in 2006, (RED) has worked to make preventable and treatable disease preventable and treatable for everyone by bringing the private sector to the AIDS fight. This mission is made possible by community leaders, like those at Rise Clubs, working on the ground to ensure testing, treatment, prevention, counseling and more are available to those most in need. Together, we fight for a more just and equitable world where women and girls are empowered with the tools to make decisions about their bodies and health.

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