The Women and Wealth Project (WWP)

In response to the emerging issues of women living with and affected by HIV, UNDP Regional HIV and Development Programme for Asia and the Pacific initiated the Women and Wealth Project (WWP) in late 2006, in partnership with Population and Community Development Association (PDA), an NGO based in Bangkok. WWP is currently implemented with groups of women living with HIV in Cambodia and India.

As a regional pilot initiative, WWP pursues the socioeconomic empowerment of women living with and affected by HIV through development of small-scale social enterprises. WWP takes a two-phased approach. The first phase is the development of sustainable social enterprises to provide a sustainable flow of financial resource for the positive women’s groups and also to finance the second phase. The second phase is the implementation of a unique micro-credit programme specifically designed for people living with HIV called “the Positive Partnership Programme (PPP),” which is devised by PDA (PPP has been selected by UNAIDS for its 2007 Best Practice Collection). The groups are currently in the first phase.

A common brand for all the products by these groups “WE” (Women Empowered) was launched at the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) in Sri Lanka. Women participating in the project have expressed increased confidence, dignity, and hope and reduced stigma and discrimination against them.



Strengths of WWP

• Economic empowerment through generating sustainable revenue for the positive women’s group to finance its support activities as well as through creating employment for the women

• Social empowerment by reducing stigma and discrimination against positive women through business interactions and making them income earners and “business owners”.

• Collective and individual empowerment through business development (as a group) and vocational training opportunities, respectively

• Providing a safe working environment for the women without any stigma and discrimination and with an understanding on unique needs of women living with HIV

• PPP (micro-credit) provides opportunities to distribute the benefits of the project to a greater number of the women across the country