HIV and H2O: Tracing the Connections Between Gender, Water and HIV

The health consequences for HIV-affected families of insufficient access to safe water and sanitation are particularly dire:
inadequate access complicates medication adherence and increases vulnerability to opportunistic infections for persons living
with HIV. The gendered nature of water collection and HIV care—with women disproportionately bearing the burden in both areas—presents
an unrealized opportunity to improve HIV outcomes through investments in water/sanitation. We synthesize the literature on
HIV and water/sanitation to develop a conceptual model that maps the connections between women’s double burden of resource
collection and HIV care. Drawing on theories of gender and systems science, we posit that there are multiple paths through
which improved water/sanitation could improve HIV-related outcomes. Our findings suggest that the positive synergies of investing
in water/sanitation in high HIV prevalence communities that are also expanding access to ART would be significant, with health
multiplying effects that impact women and entire communities.