Unite for Children, Unite Against HIV/AIDS

Deaths due to AIDS

Every minute of every day, a child under the age of 15 dies of AIDS-related illness. AIDS claimed three million lives in 2004. One of every six of them was a child under the age of 15. In 2004, 510,000 children under 15 years old died because of AIDS.

HIV infection among children and young people:Each year, 640,000 children under 15 are infected with HIV. Without treatment, half of them will die before their second birthday.

Nearly 90 percent of new child HIV infections occur in sub-Saharan Africa, but the number of such infections is increasing in other areas, particularly Asia.

Every 15 seconds, a young person between the ages of 15 and 24 is infected with HIV. In 2004, more than 2 million young people aged 15 to 24 were newly infected with HIV.

Mother-to-child transmission:The overwhelming majority of children under 15 who are HIV-positive got infected through their mothers. But less than 10 percent of pregnant women are offered services to stop the spread of HIV to their babies. Without preventive interventions, roughly one third of infants born to HIV-positive mothers will acquire the virus during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding.

Paediatric Treatment: One widely available drug, cotrimoxazole, can nearly halve child deaths from HIV/AIDS. The drug costs as little as three U.S. cents a day. But only 1 percent of children who need it have access to it.

An estimated 4 million children, some already diagnosed with HIV and others born to HIV-positive mothers but not yet diagnosed, need access to cotrimoxazole, which is proven to fight off deadly infections.

There are roughly 660,000 children under the age of 15 who need access to antiretroviral treatment.Less than 5 percent of HIV-positive children in need of anti-retroviral medicine receive it.

Orphans and vulnerable children:It is estimated that by the year 2010 in sub-Saharan Africa alone, more than 18 million children – more than all the children in the United Kingdom, will have lost at least one parent to AIDS. Less than 10 percent of children orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS are receiving some kind of public support.

Prevention:

The vast majority of young people do not have access to the information, skills and services that are essential for HIV/AIDS prevention. 

Source: UNICEF Website