HIV incidence trends in Africa: young women at highest risk

Abstract

HIV is an ongoing global public health challenge, with 38 million people living with HIV and 1·7 million new HIV infections in 2019 worldwide. 1 UNAIDSGlobal AIDS Update 2020. Seizing the moment: tackling entrenched inequalities to end epidemics. UNAIDS, Geneva, Switzerland2020 Google Scholar Although considerable progress has been made in scaling up antiretroviral therapy, with 25·4 million (66%) people accessing treatment globally by 2019, 1 UNAIDSGlobal AIDS Update 2020. Seizing the moment: tackling entrenched inequalities to end epidemics. UNAIDS, Geneva, Switzerland2020 Google Scholar declines in HIV incidence have been slower than expected. The annual global number of new HIV infections declined by 1 million over two decades from 2·7 million in 2000 to 1·7 million in 2019. A nuanced understanding of HIV incidence trends is required to guide HIV prevention and ensure that the priority groups are identified and reached. Age patterns of HIV incidence in eastern and southern Africa: a modelling analysis of observational population-based cohort studiesHIV incidence declined in all age groups and shifted slightly to older ages. Disproportionate new HIV infections occur among women aged 15–24 years and men aged 20–29 years, supporting focused prevention in these groups. However, 40–60% of infections were outside these ages, emphasising the importance of providing appropriate HIV prevention to adults of all ages. Full-Text PDF Open Access