Press Release.............................. UNESCAP News Services

Date 4 March 2004
Media Alert No: N/04/2004

International Women's Day
to be observed, 8 March at UN Conference Centre, Bangkok
Theme: Women and HIV/AIDS

Bangkok (UN Information Services) -- The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) will co-host the observance of International Women's Day 2004 on Monday, 8 March, in Bangkok.

Focusing on Women and HIV/AIDS, this year's event hopes to raise awareness about the devastating impact of the illness on women.

The global AIDS epidemic crossed a significant threshold in 2003 when, for the first time according to new statistics, half of those living with HIV were women. In developing countries in particular, younger women are becoming increasingly vulnerable to infection.

"All over the world, women are increasingly bearing the brunt of the epidemic," says UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "In the world as a whole, at least half of those newly infected are women, and among people younger than 24, girls and young women now make up nearly two thirds of those living with HIV. If these rates of infection continue, women will soon become the majority of the global total of people infected."

Key speakers at the Bangkok observance include; Ms. Keiko Okaido, the Deputy Executive Secretary of UNESCAP, Ms. Kathleen Cravero, the Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, and Mr. J.K. Robert England, the Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

There will also be an expert panel discussion focusing specifically on the HIV/AIDS situation for women in Thailand. Participants include representatives from the Thai government, NGOs and community groups.

The morning's events will be followed by a film festival featuring documentaries on women's issues in the Asia-Pacific region. A key highlight includes Trading Women, a film focusing on human trafficking and the sex trade in women narrated by actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador, Angelina Jolie.

The event is jointly organized with the National Council of Women of Thailand (NCW) and the interagency Thematic Working Group-Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality (TWG-WEGE).

Note to Editors: You or your representatives are cordially invited to attend the observance of International Women's Day from 8:30 am - 11 am, 8 March 2004, Conference Room 3, United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC), Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok.

For further information, please contact the United Nations Information Services Bangkok, Tel: (66) 02 288 1864-9, Fax: (66) 02 288 1052, E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY:
"Women and HIV/AIDS"
Monday, 8 March 2004

Co-organized by UNESCAP, the interagency Thematic Working Group on Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality (TWG-WEGE), and the
National Council of Women of Thailand (NCWT)

United Nations Conference Centre, Conference Room 3

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