Reducing adolescent girls' vulnerability to HIV infection: examining microfinance and sustainable livelihood approaches. A literature and program review

Increasing women's access to income and productive resources is one of the five priority gender strategies of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Emergency Plan) (PL 108-25). Part 1 of this literature and program review focuses on youth-centered programs to prevent HIV infection among vulnerable female adolescents - including microfinance (MF) and sustainable livelihood programs. Part 2 analyzes the relationship between microfinance and HIV prevention in the general population, with a focus on women and the oldest adolescents in the target group. Adapting the traditional microfinance model to meet the needs of this sub-group could prove to benefit not only these adolescents but also the microfinance industry.