Global Data Points

Overview

Global Impact of HIV on Children, Youth, and Families

Globally, there are 38.4 million people living with HIV.

Every day, approximately 430 children (0-14)* are newly infected with HIV because their families lack access to the health services they need to prevent transmission.

1.5 million individuals were newly infected in 2021 alone. Every week, around 4,900 adolescent girls and young women aged 15 – 24 years become infected with HIV. Almost three out of five young people who acquired HIV in 2021 were adolescent girls and young women.

TB remains the leading cause of death among people living with HIV, accounting for around one in three AIDS-related deaths. Globally, an estimated 9.9 million people fell ill with TB in 2020 and, each day, over 4,000 people lose their lives to TB.

Co-infection of HIV with TB poses a serious threat to the health of people living with HIV—especially children, who are more difficult to diagnose and treat than adults. Every year, over 1.1 million children under age 15 become ill with TB worldwide—half are under the age of five. In 2018, 14% of all TB-related deaths were among children.

Without treatment, 50% of HIV-positive children will die before their second birthday and most will die before they are five-years-old.

Peak mortality among HIV-infected infants occurs at just 8–10 weeks of life. Because early treatment is so critical to the survival and long-term health of infants infected with HIV, EGPAF is working to drive access to and uptake of point-of-care early infant diagnosis technology.

AIDS is a leading cause of death among young people in Africa.

52% of children living with HIV globally received antiretroviral therapy compared to 76% of adults living with HIV.

Almost half of new HIV infections in children are due to HIV-positive women not receiving antiretroviral therapy.

 

 * UNAIDS data, July 2022

 

Updated February 2023