African countries have made tremendous progress in slowing down the spread of the disease despite the disruptions caused to prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially last year, the UN agency said Wednesday in a statement.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, annual new infections among adolescents in Eastern and Southern Africa decreased by 41 percent since 2010, while in North Africa, infections increased by 4 percent.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the UN agency said overall, new HIV infections among adolescents have dropped by one-third, with 85 percent of infections occurring in girls.
Additionally, in Eastern and Southern Africa, new HIV infections among younger children have dropped by 63 percent since 2010.
However, the UN agency said a lot still needs to be done, noting that out of the 15.4 million children who lost one or both parents to AIDS-related causes globally last year, 11.5 million live in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Building back better in a post-pandemic world must include HIV responses that are evidence-based, people-centered, resilient, sustainable and, above all, equitable,” Henrietta Fore, the agency executive director said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to WHO, two-thirds of HIV-positive people of the world, translating to 25.7 million live in Africa, of whom 80 percent are women aged between 15 and 19.
Amira Elfadil, the commissioner for health, humanitarian affairs and social development at the African Union Commission, said girls across the continent should be enabled to complete secondary education to reduce HIV prevalence among the segment.
“Six in seven new infections among adolescents aged 15-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa are in girls. “Empowering adolescent girls and young women to complete secondary education helps keep them safe and reduces their risk of HIV infection by as much as 30–50 percent in some countries,” she said.
MG/abj/APA