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In Côte d’Ivoire less than 30 % of seropositive children are under antiretroviral treatment. Without treatment 50 % of seropositive children die before the age of two.
For every child, a HIV free life.
(RELEASE OBTAINED)
Unicef’s latest report reveals a persistent disparity in HIV infection rates between girls and boys, emphasizing that girls are more than twice as likely to contract HIV. While there has been a nearly 50% reduction in infections among girls aged 10-19 since 2010, with numbers dropping from 190,000 to 98,000, the gender gap in HIV infections remains stark.
The report underscores several contributing factors to this inequality. Gender disparities often leave girls disempowered when it comes to negotiating safe sex. Poverty plays a significant role as well, with communities located far from healthcare centers and facing limited access to HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health programs.
Anurita Bains, Associate Director of HIV/AIDS at Unicef, expressed grave concern over the burden of HIV infection borne by adolescent girls. Bains stressed the urgency for collaborative action among the UN, governments, communities, and organizations to eliminate the barriers that threaten the health and well-being of these young girls. Ensuring the fulfillment of sexual and reproductive health rights for adolescent girls and young women stands paramount in this effort.
Sub-Saharan Africa remains a region deeply affected by HIV prevalence among adolescent girls and young women, with infection rates persistently over three times higher than among males of the same age group. Eastern and Southern Africa bear the largest burden of HIV infections among children aged 0-19, followed by other regions like West and Central Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia.
Globally, the report notes a concerning figure of 270,000 new HIV infections among children and adolescents aged 0-19 in 2022, contributing to a total of 2.6 million young people living with HIV. Despite progress being made, the fight against AIDS continues to lag, with 99,000 children and adolescents succumbing to AIDS-related causes in 2022. This demographic accounts for 15% of all AIDS-related deaths, despite comprising only 7% of people living with HIV, highlighting the urgent need for intensified efforts to address this global health challenge.
