Voices of Youth

• In 2008, around 33.4 million people were living with HIV worldwide. Of these, 4.9 million were young people (15–24 years old), and 2.1 million were children under 15.
• Most of HIV infections still occur in sub-Saharan Africa. This region makes up more than 80 percent of young people (15–24 years old) who are living with HIV. (UNICEF, Progress for Children, 2010)
• In Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, more than 1 in 10 young people are living with HIV (UNICEF, Children and AIDS, 2010)
• Girls and young women are especially affected by HIV. Worldwide, over 60 per cent of all young people living with HIV are young women. In sub- Saharan Africa, young women make up nearly 70 per cent of all young people living with HIV. (UNICEF, Progress for Children, 2010)
• Only 31 per cent of young men and 19 per cent of young women have comprehensive, correct knowledge[1] of HIV and AIDS. (UNICEF, Progress for Children, 2010)
• The Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) region is home to nearly 1 of 4 of the world’s injecting drug users. (UNICEF, Children and AIDS, 2010)
• In the worst-affected countries, more than 40% of injecting drug users are infected with HIV. (UNICEF, Children and AIDS, 2010)
• In sub-Saharan Africa, out of young people who reported they had had sex with multiple partners during the previous year, 47 per cent of young men and 32 per cent of young women claimed to have used a condom during the last intercourse. (UNICEF, Children and AIDS, 2010)

[1] Comprehensive, correct knowledge is defined as correctly identifying the two major ways of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV (using condoms and limiting sex to one faithful, uninfected partner), rejecting the two most common local misconceptions about HIV transmission and knowing that a healthy-looking person can transmit HIV.