UN campaign: fewer young people should die of AIDS
With a new campaign, the UN aims to reduce the number of young people dying of AIDS by two-thirds over the next five years.
The number of new HIV infections should also be drastically reduced with the "All In" campaign presented in Nairobi on Tuesday. According to UN statistics, the immunodeficiency disease AIDS is the second most common cause of death among 15 to 19-year-olds worldwide. In Africa, it is the number one killer.
The campaign by various UN organizations is also an admission that too little attention has been paid to young people in the fight against AIDS. They are the only age cohort in which the number of AIDS-related deaths is not declining. Around 120,000 young people died from the consequences of AIDS worldwide in 2013. According to UN data, a total of 2.1 million young people worldwide are HIV-positive, more than 80 percent of them in Africa. Girls and young women are particularly affected. According to UN statistics, they accounted for around two thirds of the 250,000 new HIV infections in 2013. Particularly in poorer and patriarchal African societies, they often lack the knowledge and self-confidence to insist on using condoms during sexual intercourse. (SDA)
Teaser image: Keystone
