712 CHILDREN CONTRACT HIV EACH DAY IN 2024 – UNICEF REPORTS
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UNICEF REPORT REVEALS CHILDREN STILL BEAR SIGNIFICANT BURDEN IN HIV PANDEMIC
The 2025 HIV Estimates Report released by the United Nations Children’s Fund has disclosed that, of the 40.8 million individuals living with HIV globally in 2024, approximately 2.42 million were children between the ages of 0 and 19.
According to the report, each day in 2024, “approximately 712 children became infected with HIV, and approximately 250 children died from AIDS-related causes, mostly due to inadequate access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services.”
The report further highlighted that, “as of 2024, roughly 13.8 million [10.9 – 17.7 million] children under the age of 18 had lost one or both parents to AIDS-related causes. Millions more have been affected by the epidemic, through a heightened risk of poverty, homelessness, school dropout, discrimination, and loss of opportunities. These hardships include prolonged illness and death.”
Out of the estimated 630,000 [490,000–820,000] deaths from AIDS-related illnesses recorded in 2024, around 90,000 [61,000–120,000], or roughly 14 per cent, were children under the age of 20.
Globally, about 120,000 children aged 0–14 were newly infected with HIV in 2024, bringing the total number of HIV-positive children in that age group to 1,380,000. Nearly 86 per cent of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa.
“One bright spot on the global horizon is the rapid decline of approximately 62 per cent in new HIV infections among children aged 0–14 since 2010 due to stepped-up efforts to prevent vertical transmission of HIV. However, the number of new HIV infections among adolescents (aged 15–19) has declined at a slower rate of about 44 per cent.”
The report also noted that, “an estimated 90,000 [61,000–120,000] children and adolescents died from AIDS-related causes in 2024. About 73 per cent of these preventable deaths occurred among children under 10 years old.”
It concluded by stating that while the annual number of AIDS-related deaths among children aged 0–14 has decreased by approximately 80 per cent since its peak in 2003, deaths among adolescents aged 15–19 have only declined by 38 per cent since 2007.
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