UNICEF warns of rising HIV/AIDS death toll in children aged under 19

United Nations, Nov 28 (Prensa Latina) Some 110,000 children aged under 19 have passed away of AIDS in 2021, and the recent infection toll has reached 2.7 million children.

November 28, 2022
16:27

According to a report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), progress in preventing and treating AIDS has remained practically stagnant over the last three years, where many regions have lacked healthcare service since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

A few days before the World AIDS Day, the UN drew attention to the existing and growing gap in treatment to adults and children, teens and pregnant women.

“Every day with no progress, over 300 children and adolescents died of AIDS,” said UNICEF’s Deputy HIV/AIDS Chief Anurita Bains.

Unless inequality issues are being addressed, curbing AIDS among children will remain a distant dream.

New HIV/AIDS infections among children aged under 14 fell by 52% between 2010 and 2021, and infections among children aged 15-19 declined by 40%.

Similarly, lifetime antiretroviral treatment (ART) coverage among pregnant women living with HIV increased from 46% to 81% in a single decade.

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