Seventy-two percent of new HIV/Aids infections in South Africa and globally have been detected in adolescent girls.
Unicef also noted that despite many women being treated and having access to treatment, that was not the case when it comes to children. It also believes that governments should invest in innovative interventions that will enable closing the gap for children living with the disease when it comes to persistent testing and treatment.
She added that what was important to note was that as long as South Africa has the prevalence it has, as well as incident infections, especially in children and adolescents, there needs to be more concerted action around primary prevention. In most cases, limited access to anti-retroviral treatment and prevention efforts lead to these deaths.