“The advancement of women’s health and their rights is one of the core principles of President Barack Obama’s Global Health Initiative,” a VOA editorial states, adding, “And so it is that the United States has rolled out a new initiative that will tackle one of the greatest threats to women’s health, HIV/AIDS, by attacking another scourge: gender-based violence [GBV].” According to the editorial, “Physical violence or the threat of physical violence and coercion are all associated with HIV transmission for women of all ages,” which is why “[i]n mid-March, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer and U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby announced an initiative to provide $4.65 million in small grants to grassroots organizations to address gender-based violence issues.”

The editorial concludes, “Through the gender-based violence small grants program, grassroots organizations will receive support to prevent and respond to violence against women and help to address the structural drivers of both violence and HIV. By combining the efforts to eliminate two of the major factors that threaten women’s health — gender-based violence and HIV — the United States and its partners will strengthen the response to each” (4/7).