Governments around the world tend to be tightlipped about their progress in addressing the epidemic of HIV/AIDS among women and girls, says a new report from the advocacy organization AIDS Accountability International.

"There is widespread lack of accountability and transparency in national AIDS responses, meaning we do not have the information that we should about human and financial resources and how well countries are meeting their agreed targets for the well-being of women and girls," said Executive Director Rodrigo Garay.

The report seeks to highlight the fact that HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among women worldwide in their reproductive years. In addition, the report finds that awareness of how to prevent the transmission of HIV varies widely from nation to nation.

In Eritrea, for example, some 79 percent of females demonstrated adequate knowledge of how to protect themselves against HIV. At the other end of the spectrum, only 29 percent of women and girls in Angola were knowledgeable. Worldwide, the figure was 38 percent. The 2010 target established by the UN is 95 percent.

"I believe this report puts it all into reality and out of the illusion that we've come a long way to be [responsive] to the rights and needs of women," said Norwegian HIV/AIDS Ambassador Sigrun Mogedal. "If any response should be gender sensitive, it is the HIV and AIDS response," she said.

The report was lauded by leaders around the globe. "Very limited progress has been made towards the achievement of the targets. Certainly we are faced with a situation where much, much more needs to be done," said Elizabeth Mataka, the UN's special envoy on AIDS in Africa. To access the full report, visit www.aidsaccountability.org.