The challenge
In the past decade, the world has made remarkable progress in the fight against HIV. Since 2010, 1.4 million new infections in children under five have been averted. Since 2000, the number of children (0-19) newly infected with HIV decreased by 49 per cent.
Achieving an AIDS-free generation is within sight, but still distant. Furthermore, progress has been uneven across regions and populations.
The HIV epidemic continues to have a disproportionate impact on children. Just slightly more than half of children under 15 living with HIV receive treatment, placing them at a high risk of AIDS-related death. Without prompt treatment soon after birth, one-third of children living with HIV will die by age 1, and half by age 2. Treatment coverage among adolescents is equally worrisome. Among 40 countries with available data, about 43 per cent of adolescents aged 10-19 living with HIV received ART in 2017. There is an urgent need to diagnosis and link children and adolescents to treatment in time to save their lives.
In 2017, there were 1.8 million adolescents aged 10-19 living with HIV. New HIV infections among adolescents are projected to decrease by 23 per cent between 2018 and 2030, which is not enough to meet global targets. Rapid population growth in many lower- and middle-income countries has created a rising cohort of adolescents and young adults, and combined with slow progress in HIV prevention in young populations, the epidemic seems far from over. Projections show that at the current rate of HIV incidence, without acceleration of efforts and investment, a total of 2.0 million adolescents could become newly infected with HIV between 2018 and 2030.
Women: At the Heart of the HIV Response for Children
The situation is particularly dire for adolescent girls and adolescents who are members of key populations. Worldwide, approximately an adolescent girl (15- 19) was infected every three minutes in 2017. Adolescent girls account for nearly two out of every three new HIV infections in the 15-19 age group. Adolescents generally, and adolescent girls and adolescent members of key populations in particular, tend to be the groups at most risk of contracting HIV. They are also least likely to have access to treatment. Key populations refers to men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, sex workers, and adolescents who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex.
UNICEF’s HIV/AIDS programme in brief:
For children to reach their full potential, they must be born free of preventable diseases and remain healthy. When HIV progresses to AIDS, it remains a significant cause of mortality among children, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and among adolescents worldwide.
UNICEF works to reach the following goals:
Eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV (eMTCT)
Close the HIV treatment gap – by reaching more children and adolescents living with HIV with effective treatment
Prevent HIV in adolescents
