JOHANNESBURG: HIV/AIDS remains the leading cause of death among Africans aged between 10 and 19, UNICEF chief Anthony Lake said Monday at the start of a major international conference on the virus.
“Despite remarkable global progress in tackling the HIV/AIDS pandemic, much work remains to be done to protect children and adolescents from infection, sickness and death,” Lake said in a statement released on the first day of AIDS 2016, held in the South African city of Durban.
“AIDS is still the number two cause of death for those aged 10-19 globally — and number one in Africa,” added the head of the UN children’s agency.
According to UNICEF, AIDS-related deaths among people aged between 15 and 19 have more than doubled since 2000, with 29 new infections within this age group taking place across the world every hour.
