By Molly Powers
When the Millennium Villages Project (MVP) was first launched in Ruhiira, Uganda, in 2006, community members identified their most pressing problem as lack of access to water. Nearly all 6,500 residents of the mountainous parish of Ruhiira live on hilltops, and most water sources
By Cheryl Palm
As the state of the environment directly affects human health and economic wellbeing, the attainment of Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensuring environmental sustainability is critical to the success of all the MDGs.
In Ruhiira, Uganda, one of 14 clusters of Millennium Villages across sub-Saharan Africa, combating HIV, including Mother to Child Transmission (MTCT), through sensitization campaigns, condoms, and antiretrovirals (ARVs) is only half the battle. Addressing the other half—a deeply ingrained culture of female disempowerment— is an unavoidable challenge, which is dangerously neglected. The victimization of females through cross-generational sex serves as a major vector for the spread of HIV. It is common and it is getting worse.
State of the Planet is a forum for discussion on varying viewpoints. The opinions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Earth Institute or Columbia University.
