Report

Women: At the Heart of the HIV Response for Children

A report examining HIV and AIDS throughout the lifecycle of the child and mother

Daughter sitting on the floor with a pink toy next to her mother

UNICEF/UN0220482/Erlangga

Highlights

Throughout the world, women have disproportionately borne the impact of HIV, as caregivers and recipients of care. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the greatest number of people living with HIV, 60 per cent of people living with HIV are women. Adolescent girls and young women are particularly impacted. Without effective prevention of HIV, they are likely to pass along the virus to their babies, continuing the cycle of infection to the next generation. This report examines HIV and AIDS throughout the lifecycle of the child and mother – pregnancy and infancy, childhood, and adolescence – and showcases the important role of women in the HIV response for children. It tells a compelling story about successes achieved over the course of the epidemic, the difficulties encountered and the challenges overcome, and what lies ahead on the continuing road to ending AIDS for children and for all.