Adolescents aged 15 to 19 are hit hard by the disease



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Every three minutes, a teenager becomes infected with the AIDS virus around the world. This is the alarming report issued by Unicef ​​at the 22nd International Conference on Disease at Amsterdam in the Netherlands this week. The United Nations agency has published a report which reveals that today girls between the ages of 15 and 19 account for one third of infections.

Between lack of information and domination

Why are they at the heart of this public health crisis ? The reasons are multiple. First, Unicef ​​ points to the lack of access to information and prevention in most countries. The most affected geographical area being sub-Saharan Africa . Moreover, their place in society makes them more vulnerable. According to Unicef, the spread of the epidemic among girls is explained by "early badual intercourse, including with older men, forced relationships, the power struggle that does not say no, poverty". As a result, the number of AIDS-related deaths has decreased in all age groups since 2010. But it stagnates among adolescents.

Every three minutes, a teenage girl is infected with HIV. This is preventable. Learn more → https://t.co/pHkjcETwu6#AIDS2018 #EndAIDS pic.twitter.com/xAvaD8e1Ge

– UNICEF (@UNICEF) July 25, 2018

The risk that the virus pbades from mother to child

When these teenagers are affected by AIDS, another danger appears: once pregnant, they transmit the virus to their child. And in this sense, there has been progress since the 1990s. According to estimates of UNAIDS – the United Nations program to fight the epidemic – today 80% Pregnant women around the world who are AIDS sufferers benefit from antiretroviral therapy. The number of children under 4 infected with AIDS has been reduced by one-third between 2010 and 2017.

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