International Women’s Day 2026

This statement is jointly released by Global Fund Advocates Network Asia-Pacific (GFAN AP), Women4GlobalFund and Seven Alliance (a consortium of Asia-Pacific networks: APCOM, APN+, APNSW, APTN, ICWAP, NAPUD, Youth LEAD) in conjunction with International Women’s Day 2026.

On 8 March 2026, as the world marks International Women’s Day under the theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls,” we stand with communities and civil society across Asia Pacific and globally to demand sustained action to protect the health, dignity and rights of women and girls in all their diversity.

Despite scientific breakthroughs, HIV, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and other preventable diseases such as cervical cancer continue to reflect deep structural injustice. Women and girls remain disproportionately affected. Globally, 21 million women are living with HIV, including 2.2 million in Asia Pacific. HIV transmission rates among adolescent girls and young women were four times higher than global targets. In 2024, 3.7 million women developed TB, one of the leading infectious killers of women in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LICs and LMICs). That same year, more than 36% of pregnant women in high-burden countries were exposed to malaria, placing both mothers and newborns at grave risk.

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