STATISTICS

Young People Living With HIV

There are 5.4 million people worldwide between the ages of 15 and 24 are living with HIV, with 59% of them female and about 41% are male.. Globally about 45% of new HIV infections are among young people.

There are 3.2 million young people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, 76% of whom are female, three young women are infected with HIV for each young man who contracts that virus.

In Latin America and the Caribbean there are around 420 000 young people living with HIV, with three men being infected for every woman and where the primary mode of infection is among men having sex with men.

Southeast Asia and the Pacific have the second highest HIV prevalence with about 1.27 million youth living with HIV, 70 per cent of whom are male and the primary mode of infection is through injection drug use.

In Central and Eastern Europe there are around 340 000 young people living with HIV, the Russian Federation and Ukraine have the fastest growing epidemics in the world, and young people account for a large proportion of the number of people living with HIV, and the primary mode of infection is through injection drug use.

FALLING THROUGH THE GAP? THE YOUTH MOVEMENT AND THE PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV MOVEMENT

Young people living with HIV are not adequately supported, engaged or recognized by both global networks and movements of young people respond- ing to HIV, or by global networks of people living with HIV. While both movements have done some work with and around young people living with HIV, more needs to be done. The youth movement often assumes that people living with HIV networks are engaging and working with young people living with HIV, while the people living with HIV movement assumes that young people living with HIV are involved in the youth movement. There is gap which results in neither of these potentially important groups for young people living with HIV in recognizing their needs and engaging with them appropriately. Open dialogue between these movements with the aims of creating supportive sustainable spaces for young people living with HIV will help to ensure that the HIV response is truly effective and that universal access targets to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support are realized.

CALL TO ACTION FOR NETWORKS OF YOUNG PEOPLE AND PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV:

Actively engage and create supports for young people living with HIV in all levels of governance, programming and implementation of activities.

SOURCE:  Briefing Paper  YOUNG POSITIVES: LIVING THEIR RIGHTS!   Download Document HERE