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HIV, adolescents and yung: WHO intervenes
Young people (aged 10-24) are at the center of the HIV pandemic in terms of transmission, impact, vulnerability, and the potential for change. They are a key group, both affected and targeted by the virus. Notwithstanding the consensus on what should be done to combat the spread of HIV in this population, each year, an estimated 2 million young people become infected with HIV, two-thirds of them women. A high percentage of the population in vulnerable groups, such as intravenous drug users and sex workers, are young. Young people, moreover, represent a high proportion of the parents of the 2,000 infants of both sexes who contract the virus daily through vertical transmission. Finally, a high percentage of AIDS orphans are adolescents.
The global objectives and targets related to HIV in young people aged 15 to 24 offer direction in terms of its impact (decrease in prevalence), coverage of the key interventions (greater access by young people to information, skills, and services), and reducing the vulnerability of young people to HIV. These goals were endorsed by the ICPD+5 and the United Nations General Assembly Special Sessions on children and AIDS, and also appear in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There is a clear need to broaden the response to reach these objectives and targets, which will oblige different sectors to bolster their specific contributions.
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