During 2007, some 2.7 million people became newly infected, and 2 million died of AIDS, including 270,000 children. Most of these children have been infected through mother-to-child transmission.
Yet a significant number of young people continue to be infected with HIV. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, in the 15-and-older age group, 45% of all new cases in 2007 were found among those 15–24 years old.
The issue of paediatric HIV/AIDS is increasingly important in the overall debate about access to medicines, not only due to infection by HIV but also through the loss of one or both parents to AIDS.
Read about how ViiV Healthcare is addressing this challenge through its Positive Action programme
References
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, UNAIDS, Geneva, 2008