"Increasingly the face of AIDS is young and female"
"Women make up nearly half of the 37.2 million adults living with HIV, and in sub-Saharan Africa the proportion rises to almost 60 percent, according to a UN report released on Tuesday.
"'Increasingly the face of AIDS is young and female', said Dr Kathleen Cravero, deputy executive director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
"In every region of the globe, the number of women infected with the deadly virus has risen during the past two years. East Asia had the highest jump with 56 percent, followed by Eastern Europe and Central Asia with 48 percent.
"In sub-Saharan Africa, three-quarters of all 15-24 year olds living with HIV are female.
"'Young women are almost an endangered species in southern Africa from AIDS for several reasons', Cravero told Reuters.
"Many women have no access to education or jobs. They are often economically dependent on men and may not have the power to resist sex or ask their husband or partner to use a condom.
"Teenage girls are acquiring the virus at a younger age and from older men. Violence against women also makes them more vulnerable to infection.
"'We will not be able to stop this epidemic unless we put women at the heart of the response to AIDS', UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot told a news conference in Brussels."
[My emphasis above - N]
Full text
"Women make up nearly half of the 37.2 million adults living with HIV, and in sub-Saharan Africa the proportion rises to almost 60 percent, according to a UN report released on Tuesday.
"'Increasingly the face of AIDS is young and female', said Dr Kathleen Cravero, deputy executive director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
"In every region of the globe, the number of women infected with the deadly virus has risen during the past two years. East Asia had the highest jump with 56 percent, followed by Eastern Europe and Central Asia with 48 percent.
"In sub-Saharan Africa, three-quarters of all 15-24 year olds living with HIV are female.
"'Young women are almost an endangered species in southern Africa from AIDS for several reasons', Cravero told Reuters.
"Many women have no access to education or jobs. They are often economically dependent on men and may not have the power to resist sex or ask their husband or partner to use a condom.
"Teenage girls are acquiring the virus at a younger age and from older men. Violence against women also makes them more vulnerable to infection.
"'We will not be able to stop this epidemic unless we put women at the heart of the response to AIDS', UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot told a news conference in Brussels."
[My emphasis above - N]
Full text
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