Africa-Afrique (PANA) – Despite considerable advances made in the global response to the AIDS epidemic over the last several decades, young women and adolescent girls in Africa are still left behind, according to a new joint report of the UN and the African Union (AU).
In a statement on the report Wednesday, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said in Sub-Saharan region, AIDS-related illnesses remain the leading cause of death among girls and women of reproductive age.
UNAIDS noted that in 2013, 74 percent of new HIV infections among African adolescents were adolescent girls.
Young women and adolescent girls acquire HIV on average five to seven years earlier than young men, and in some countries in the region, HIV prevalence among this population can be as much as seven times that of their male counterparts.
The statement quoted Ms. Sheila Tlou, UNAIDS Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, as saying: “In the absence of a vaccine, ending gender-based violence, keeping girls in school and empowering young women and adolescent girls are the best options we have available.”
UNAIDS and AU launched the joint report entitled: ‘Empower young women and adolescent girls: Fast-Tracking the end of the AIDS epidemic in Africa’, to guide regional and global advocacy and inform political dialogue on HIV prevention and treatment among young women and adolescent girls.
Photo: UNAIDS
