Women: At the Heart of the HIV Response for Children
A report examining HIV and AIDS throughout the lifecycle of the child and mother
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.

Files available for download

Out of the darkness, into the light
A 16-year-old girl living with HIV in Uzbekistan recalls her journey

Life as a child activist
Fighting for the rights of children living with HIV in Honduras

Teens: Together, we are louder
Discussing the challenges faced by HIV-positive teenagers in Ukraine
Every three minutes a teenage girl is infected by HIV
“HIV thrives among the most vulnerable and marginalized, leaving teenage girls at the centre of the crisis.”
Celebrating women
“You don’t get to choose the most urgent global crisis of your lifetime. You just get to choose whether you rise to meet its challenge”
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