Children and HIV and AIDS

Preventing Infection among Adolescents and Young People

© UNICEF/ HQ06-1500/Pirozzi

Youth leaders stand in a circle, holding hands, to symbolize the slogan ‘We can do it together’, at a child care centre that supports AIDS-affected children in Manila, Philippines.

The facts

In 2009:

• 5 million young people in low- and middle-income countries around the world were living with HIV. 
• Of them, about 2.7 million were living in Eastern and Southern Africa, the region most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
• An estimated 890,000 new infections occurred among young people aged 15-24.
• Girls in sub-Saharan Africa are more vulnerable to HIV infection and account for approximately 70% of all infections in young people. 
• In sub-Saharan Africa, only 30% of young men and 26% of young women had a comprehensive knowledge of HIV.
• Injecting drug use can put young people at higher risk of acquiring HIV. An estimated one-quarter of the 3.7 million injecting drug users living in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are living with HIV. Most are men. Many began using drugs in adolescence.
  

Millions of young people around the world are estimated to be living with HIV and AIDS.  Their numbers have declined since 2001 -- a change linked to trends toward safer behaviours and practices.  But the epidemic continues to have a grave impact upon this age group.

Among the young, HIV is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa where more women than men are living with the virus.  The epidemic has increased most rapidly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, tripling between 2000 and 2009. A rapid rise in HIV infections at the turn of the century among young people who inject drugs caused the epidemic in this region to surge.

Because sex and drug use among young people are sensitive subjects, HIV prevention programmes may not include efforts targeted specifically toward the needs of this age group.  Stigma and discrimination often leaves those affected by the virus cut off from testing and prevention services.

What is the response?
Young people need have greater access to comprehensive information, services and opportunities to develop essential skills for HIV prevention.
 
Prevention programmes tailored to the needs and behaviours of young people can help to reverse the spread of HIV – as can comprehensive education and action to end stigma and discrimination.

Preventing HIV transmission among young people is in line with UN Millennium Development Goals 3 and 4, which call for equal opportunities for girls and women and for reducing child mortality.