Geline Salac

A health worker takes blood samples of people who want to undertake voluntary  HIV testing at the University of the Philippines Manila.

A health worker takes blood samples of people who want to undertake voluntary  HIV testing at the University of the Philippines Manila. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17329240992741732924097994.jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A health worker takes blood samples of people who want to undertake voluntary  HIV testing at the University of the Philippines Manila. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>UNITED NATIONS, United States — The UN&#x27;s children&#x27;s fund raised the alarm on Friday over the high rate of new HIV infections among young women and girls, warning they lacked access to prevention and treatment.</p><p>In a report ahead of world AIDS day on Saturday, UNICEF said that 96,000 girls and 41,000 boys aged 15-19 were newly infected with HIV in 2023, meaning seven out of 10 new adolescent infections were among girls.</p><p>In sub-Saharan Africa, nine out of 10 new HIV infections among 15-19 year-olds were among girls in the most recent period for which data is available.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2024/11/26/-remarkable-global-progress-hiv-cases-and-deaths-declining-1251">&#x27;Remarkable global progress&#x27;: HIV cases and deaths declining</a></div><p>&quot;Children and adolescents are not fully reaping the benefits of scaled up access to treatment and prevention services,&quot; said UNICEF associate director of HIV/AIDS Anurita Bains.</p><p>&quot;Yet children living with HIV must be prioritized when it comes to investing resources and efforts to scale up treatment for all, this includes the expansion of innovative testing technologies.&quot;</p><p>As many as 77 percent of adults living with HIV have access to anti-retroviral therapy, but just 57 percent of children 14 and younger, and 65 percent of teenagers aged 15-19, can obtain lifesaving medicine.</p><p>Children 14 and younger account for only three percent of those living with HIV, but accounted for 12 per cent — 76,000 — of AIDS-related deaths in 2023.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2024/10/8/ph-recorded-58-new-hiv-cases-a-day-in-q2-1216">RELATED: PH recorded 58 new HIV cases a day in Q2</a></div><p>Around 1.3 million people contracted the disease in 2023, according to a report from the UNAIDS agency.</p><p>That is still more than three times higher than needed to reach the UN&#x27;s goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.</p><p>Around 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses last year, the lowest level since a peak of 2.1 million in 2004, the report said ahead of World AIDS Day on Sunday.</p><p>Much of the progress was attributed to antiretroviral treatments that can reduce the amount of the virus in the blood of patients.</p><p>Out of the nearly 40 million people living with HIV around the world, some 9.3 million are not receiving treatment, the report warned.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>In a report ahead of world AIDS day on Saturday, UNICEF said that 96,000 girls and 41,000 boys aged 15-19 were newly infected with HIV in 2023, meaning seven out of 10 new adolescent infections were among girls.</p>

In a report ahead of world AIDS day on Saturday, UNICEF said that 96,000 girls and 41,000 boys aged 15-19 were newly infected with HIV in 2023, meaning seven out of 10 new adolescent infections were among girls.

Alarm over high rate of HIV infections among young women, girls

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Alarm over high rate of HIV infections among young women, girls

Agence France-Presse

Published November 30, 2024 07:48 AM PHT

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HIV

AIDS

Unicef

UN Children's Fund

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