HIV and AIDS in Mozambique
On the rise An increasing proportion of Mozambicans are getting infected with HIV, with most new infections occurring in young people. In 2000, the national HIV prevalence among adults in their prime years of life – between 15 and 49 years of age – was estimated to be 12.2 per cent and by 2006 it had risen to 16.2 per cent. Around 58 per cent of Mozambicans infected with HIV are women. Girls aged 15–19 are three times more likely to be infected than boys in the same age group. Adolescents are more at risk of contracting HIV because of their lack of knowledge on how to prevent infection, peer pressure and risk-taking behaviour. Mozambique is seeing an increasing number of HIV-positive children. In 2006, about 99,000 children under the age of 15 were living with HIV or AIDS; the majority were below the age of five. It is estimated that by 2010, the number will increase to 121,000. Most children have been infected through mother-to-child transmission of HIV and many do not live for long without treatment. The AIDS pandemic is also compounding the orphan crisis in the country: out of 1.6 million orphaned children, a fifth have lost their parents to AIDS. Children orphaned by HIV and AIDS are especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because of stigma and the lack of adult care and supervision. In 2005, UNICEF and other partners launched a global campaign on children and AIDS focussed on four result areas, known as the ‘Four Ps’: 1. Preventing mother-to-child transmission Mozambique was among the first countries to champion the initiative, under the Patronage of the First Lady. Today, a wide range of partners are joining forces at the policy, advocacy and technical levels to support the scale-up of the national response for children infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. HIV and AIDS interventions cut across all UNICEF programmes in the areas of child health and nutrition, basic education, water and environmental sanitation, child protection and emergency response.
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