JOHANNESBURG: The number of adolescents dying from Aids has tripled over the last 15 years, most of them having acquired the disease when they were infants, according to figures released on Friday by Unicef.

Aids is the number one cause of death among adolescents aged 10 to 19 in Africa and the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally, the United Nations children’s agency said in its latest statistical update.

“Among HIV-affected populations, adolescents are the only group for which the mortality figures are not decreasing,” the report says.

“Most adolescents who die of Aids-related illnesses acquired HIV when they were infants, 10 to 15 years ago, when fewer pregnant women and mothers living with HIV received antiretroviral medicines to prevent HIV transmission from mother to child”. Many of them survived into their teenage years without knowing their HIV status.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2015