Fact Sheets

Situation

• Globally, children under 15 accounted for 2.1 million of the estimated 33.2 million people living with HIV in 2007.
  
• In 2007, some 420,000 children were newly infected with HIV and 290,000 died of AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly 90 per cent of all children living with HIV.
• Most children are infected with the virus during pregnancy and delivery or while breastfeeding. About 50 per cent of infants who get HIV from their mothers die before their second birthday.
  
• In 2007, young people aged 15-24 accounted for about 40 per cent of new HIV infections among adults aged 15 years and up. In 2007, some 5.4 million young people aged 15-24 were living with HIV. Of these, 3.1 million are women.
  
• In sub-Saharan Africa, the estimated number of children under 18 orphaned by AIDS more than doubled between 2000 and 2007, currently reaching 12.1 million.
  
• In 2004, more than 2 million young people aged 15 to 24 were newly infected with HIV.

Progress

• In low- and middle-income countries, the proportion of HIV-positive pregnant women receiving antiretroviral prophylaxis to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to their children increased from 10 per cent in 2004 to 23 per cent in 2006.
  
• In Eastern and Southern Africa, the proportion of HIV-positive pregnant women receiving antiretroviral prophylaxis for PMTCT increased from 11 per cent in 2004 to 31 per cent in 2006.
  
• By the end of 2006, 21 low- and middle-income countries were on track to meet the 80 per cent antiretrovirals coverage target for PMTCT by 2010, up from only 11 countries in 2005.
  
• In low- and middle-income countries, 127,300 HIV-positive children received antiretroviral treatment in 2006, compared with 75,000 in 2005 – an increase of 70 per cent.
  
• Recent evidence suggests that HIV prevalence among pregnant women aged 15–24 attending antenatal clinics has declined since 2000–2001 in 11 of 15 countries with sufficient data. These include 8 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa.
  
• Widespread efforts to extend protection, care and support to children affected by AIDS are under way in many countries, the gap in school enrolment rates between children who have lost both parents and other children is closing, and a growing number of vulnerable children have access to education and social protection.