The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has raised concerns about the alarming rise in new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women, highlighting their limited access to prevention and treatment services. In its report released ahead of World AIDS Day on Saturday, UNICEF revealed that in 2023, 96,000 girls and 41,000 boys aged 15-19 were newly infected with HIV, with girls making up 70% of these cases.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the disparity was even starker, with girls accounting for 90% of new infections among adolescents in the same age group. Anurita Bains, UNICEF’s associate director of HIV/AIDS, emphasized that children and adolescents are not benefitting adequately from expanded treatment and prevention programs. She urged prioritizing children living with HIV and scaling up innovative testing technologies.
While 77% of adults with HIV have access to antiretroviral therapy, only 57% of children under 14 and 65% of teenagers aged 15-19 are receiving these life-saving medicines. Children under 14, who make up just 3% of the global HIV-positive population, accounted for 12% of AIDS-related deaths in 2023, totaling 76,000 fatalities.
Globally, 1.3 million people contracted HIV in 2023, a figure more than three times the target needed to eliminate AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Around 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses last year, marking the lowest number since the 2004 peak of 2.1 million deaths.
The report credited antiretroviral treatments for reducing the virus in patients’ blood, significantly lowering mortality rates. However, out of nearly 40 million people living with HIV worldwide, 9.3 million are still not receiving treatment.
