A new UNICEF report indicates that 384 adolescent girls aged 10–19 years are infected with HIV every day.
The report titled ‘2023 Global Snapshot on HIV and AIDS,’ also showed that every day, 356 children aged 0–14 years, were newly infected, while 271 children and adolescents from 0–19 years died from AIDS-related causes with HIV.
According to the report, 71 per cent of new HIV infections among adolescents 10–19 years are among girls globally.
It noted that stigma, discrimination, societal inequalities, and violence sabotage the efforts of adolescents and young people to protect themselves against HIV and other health threats.
It said despite tremendous gains, progress is stalling for children and adolescents living with and affected by HIV.
The report showed that of the estimated 1.54 million children living
with HIV under 15 years, 87 per cent live in sub-Saharan Africa.
The report stated, “Adolescents represent a growing share of people living with HIV worldwide. In 2022, about 1.7 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 were living with HIV worldwide. Adolescents account for about four per cent of all people living with HIV and about 10 per cent of new HIV infections.
“In 2022, half as many (47 per cent) of adolescent girls and young women acquired HIV as in 2010. Even with this decline, we are not on track to meet our 2030 target to end new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women.
“The global sex distribution of new HIV infections among adolescents is driven largely by sub-Saharan Africa, which carries the overwhelming global burden of HIV. In 2022, 33 per cent of older adolescents aged 15–19 years newly infected with HIV lived outside of the region. In the Middle East and North Africa region, the number of young people living with HIV has increased by 13 per cent since 2010. In East Asia and the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean, two-thirds of new adolescent infections, age 10–19 years, occur in boys.”
The Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr Gambo Aliyu said there is no cure for HIV/AIDS at the moment, but there is effective antiretroviral therapy treatment for people living with HIV.
According to Dr A, 1.8 million persons are estimated to be living with HIV in Nigeria, out of which about 1.63 million are already on the lifesaving medication of ART.
During the commemoration of the 2023 World AIDS Day, the NACA DG said, Nigeria is responsible for about 30 per cent of the world’s gap in achieving the global target of eradicating mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
“Nigeria like many other countries, has made significant strides in the fight against HIV/AIDS but there is still much to be done to achieve the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
“Nigeria has the second-largest burden of HIV infection. Currently, a total of 1.8 million persons are estimated to be living with HIV in Nigeria out of which about 1.63 million are already on the lifesaving medication of ART.
“Approximately 58 per cent are estimated to be female, and 42 per cent male. The national average of mother-to-child transmission rate of 22 per cent is driven by a large number of states with transmission rates above 25 per cent and few states with rates below 15 per cent,” he said.
