The socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS among women and children UNICEF/Nairobi/Kenya

Abstract

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is having a profoundly negative impact on the lives of women, men and children in Sub-Saharan Africa. The region is the worst-affected by HIV/AIDS globally, with east, central and southern Africa hardest-hit. HIV seroprevalence rates range between 5 and 40 per cent in urban areas in the worst affected countries. Since hetero-sexual intercourse is the main mode of transmission in Africa, almost equal numbers of men and women have been infected with HIV in many countries. However, women, particularly youth, have been found to be particularly vulnerable to infection with HIV, due to a combination of biological and socio-economic factors.