Ideas & Impact › Resources › Get the Facts About Pediatric and Adolescent HIV

Many myths about HIV still exist.

But when policymakers and leaders have the facts, they can improve HIV prevention, diagnosis, and treatment efforts for children and adolescents.

Ending pediatric AIDS in our lifetime is possible, and it starts with getting the facts.

Six Facts You Need to Know

Pediatric HIV

Unless otherwise stated,“children” refers to 0-14 years of age, and “adolescents” refers to 15-19 years of age.

712

children and adolescents acquired HIV every day in 2024

Source: UNICEF

250

children and adolescents died from HIV-related causes every day in 2024

Source: UNICEF

3%

of people living with HIV are children, but children account for 11% of all HIV-related deaths

Source: UNAIDS

84%

of children living with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa

Source: UNAIDS

63%

of children living with HIV know their status, compared to 87% of adults

Source: UNAIDS

15%–45%

chance of vertical transmission when a mother living with HIV receives no intervention

Source: ViiV Healthcare

Six Facts You Need to Know

Adolescent HIV

Unless otherwise stated,“adolescents” refers to 15-19 years of age.

+1 million

adolescents were living with HIV worldwide in 2025

Source: UNICEF

150,000

adolescents acquired HIV in 2025

Source: UNICEF

15,000

adolescents died from AIDS-related causes in 2025

Source: UNICEF

Six times

adolescent girls in Eastern and Southern Africa are six times as likely to acquire HIV as adolescent boys

Source: UNICEF

64%

of adolescents ages 10–19 living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral treatment in 2024

Source: UNAIDS

37%

of young people in sub-Saharan Africa have accurate knowledge of HIV prevention and transmission

Source: UNESCO

Get the Facts on a Single Page

Our policy one pagers provide the basics on pediatric and adolescent HIV and include recommendations for policymakers.

Pediatric HIV One Pager Adolescent HIV One Pager

Resources

Access our policy briefs, one pagers, and landscape analysis to learn more about pediatric and adolescent HIV.

Issue Briefs

Common Ground for Global Health Policy Brief: Pediatric HIV

Published June 2026

This policy brief provides an overview of the current landscape of pediatric HIV, highlights prevention, diagnosis, and treatment successes and challenges, and gives recommendations for U.S. policymakers.

Topics:

Advocacy,

Pediatric HIV

Countries:

Global

Issue Briefs

Common Ground for Global Health Policy Brief: Adolescent HIV

Published August 2026

This policy brief explains the current landscape of adolescent HIV, with a particular focus on adolescent girls and the barriers they face regarding prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. It also provides recommendations for U.S. policymakers.

Topics:

Adolescents,

Advocacy,

HIV,

Pediatric HIV

Countries:

Global

Resource

Protecting Lives, Sustaining Progress

Published March 2026

The following landscape analysis of maternal and child health, HIV prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, and the historic strength of U.S. leadership in global aid provides an overview of these key areas of global health and recommendations for U.S. Congressional engagement and prioritization.

Topics:

Advocacy,

Children,

Global Health Security,

Health System Strengthening,

HIV,

Maternal and Child Health,

Mothers and Infants,

Women

Countries:

Global,

United States

Stories

Read stories about children, adolescents, and families impacted by HIV.

Story

A Generation Born Free — Can We Keep That Promise?

Published August 2026

Three generations of one family in Malawi show what’s possible when mothers get treatment for HIV.

Topics:

Children,

HIV,

Mothers and Infants,

Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT)

Countries:

Malawi

Story

Nine Years Later, Leah Is Still Saving Lives in Malawi

Published August 2026

A return visit to Leah, a mentor mother in rural Malawi we first met nine years ago—now a grandmother, still guiding mothers through the same journey she once walked herself.

Topics:

HIV,

Maternal and Child Health,

Mothers and Infants,

Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT)

Countries:

Malawi

Story

The Path to Generation Zero

Published July 2026

Maria remembers the child deaths she witnessed because their mothers did not get treatment. So she will keep walking the paths of Thyolo to ensure, if she can, that history does not repeat.

Topics:

Maternal and Child Health,

Mothers and Infants,

Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT)

Countries:

Malawi

Get to Know the Project

Common Ground for Global Health

This work is part of the Common Ground for Global Health project, made possible through the generous support of the Gates Foundation. The findings and conclusions within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the Gates Foundation.

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Videos and Recordings

AIDS 2026 Recording - Children can’t wait: From funding crisis to foundational fixes: What it will actually take to end pediatric HIV

Published September 2026

Watch our AIDS 2026 satellite on demand. Featuring Dr. Roland van de Ven, Dr. Doris Macharia, Dr. Friday Saidi, Dr. Prosper Faustine Njau, and Harerimana Ismail.

Topics:

Pediatric HIV

Countries:

Global

CDI-holding hands

Journal Articles

Learning through story: how peer-led support groups use storytelling to empower adolescents living with HIV in Côte d’Ivoire

Published September 2026

This evaluation, conducted in health facilities in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, explored the acceptability of peer-led support groups using a ten-topic curriculum and a ‘storytelling’ model in which fictional or real-life scenarios were used to make information more relatable and encourage discussion and sharing of personal experiences.

Topics:

Adolescents,

HIV,

Research

Countries:

Côte d’Ivoire

Resource

Research Review: Pediatric and Maternal HIV at AIDS 2026

Published September 2026

After reviewing the research on pediatric HIV presented at AIDS 2026, here is how we are putting these findings into practice.

Topics:

Adolescents,

Children,

Maternal and Child Health,

Mothers and Infants,

Pediatric HIV,

Research

Countries:

Global