Rape ‘pushes up number of HIV infections, also among children’

A quarter of new HIV infections in South Africa are caused by sexual violence, with HIV infection rates among children younger than 15 remaining alarmingly high.

This is according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef), which released its annual report on the global population of children living with HIV and Aids.

The new data follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s launch of the annual 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children this week.

According to the chief of health and nutrition at Unicef South Africa, Dr Mariame Sylla, while 25% of new HIV infections in 2018 were related to sexual violence or gender-based violence, the high rate at which children under the age of 15 were being infected with HIV pointed to numerous social ills and systemic failures in the country.

One of the challenges in controlling the HIV epidemic, she said, was the persistently high vulnerability of adolescents to HIV, in particular adolescent girls and young women.

“Adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24 years continue to bear the brunt of the HIV epidemic with high numbers of new HIV infections.

“Over a third of all new infections in South Africa are within the 15-24-year-old age group.

“In 2018, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) survey found that over a third of all new infections in South Africa came from 15-24-year-olds and HIV incidence was three times higher among adolescent girls and young women than their male counterparts.”

This vulnerability among adolescents was compounded by the very high teenage pregnancy rate, estimated at 16% of all pregnancies.

HIV prevalence rates in pregnant women was about 30%.

Sylla urged government to focus its efforts on the elimination of mother-to-child transmission which was still a key component in eradicating new HIV infections in children.

Urgent attention was also needed in reducing new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women.

“While we still have a long way to go, giving more and more pregnant women antiretroviral treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission has helped avert new HIV infections and prevented the deaths of children under five years old,” said Sylla.

“We need to see similar progress in paediatric treatment. Closing this gap between children and their mothers could significantly increase the life expectancy and quality of life of children infected with HIV.”

– simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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