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HIV/AIDS & STDs

Young Australians: Their health and wellbeing 2007

Part Two of this report [PDF document], produced by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, contains a selection of data on young Australians and HIV/AIDS. These data were sourced from the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research.

Selected findings:

  • Among young people aged 12–24 years, there were 93 HIV notifications in 2005 (78 males, 15 females). This equates to 2.5 in every 100,000 young people. Almost all of these notifications (95%) were for 18–24-year-olds.
  • In 2004, two young Australians died from HIV/AIDS. Both were young men aged 20–24 years. In the same year, the HIV notification rate was 4.1 per 100,000 young people, while for females it was 0.8 per 100,000 young people.


Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2007, Young Australians: Their health and wellbeing 2007, AIHW, Canberra [viewed 13/06/07].

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Findings from the United Nations' World Youth Report 2005:

HIV/AIDS is the most prevalent cause of mortality in youth, followed by violence and injuries.

In the worst-affected countries of eastern and southern Africa, the probability of a 15-year-old dying before reaching 60 years of age has risen sharply:

  • 10% to 30% in the mid-1980s
  • 30% to 60% at the start of 2000

Young people have been particularly affected by the intergenerational impact of the epidemic. The need to care for infected relatives, to cope with the loss of family members and to take care of AIDS orphans has had a profound impact on young people and caused them to take on new roles of responsibility in their families and their societies.

Source: To download the full report in PDF format, go to World Youth Report 2005 [viewed 17/01/2007].

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Young African women and HIV/AIDS, 2004

Across Africa, young women outnumber young men as victims of HIV/AIDS. In South Africa, up to 20% of HIV-positive women were infected within a year of losing their virginity.

In Zimbabwe and Zambia girls and young women make up almost 80% of young people infected with HIV.

The latest research by the United Nations AIDS Organisation shows that young girls are more physically susceptible than men to contact the virus during sex.

But the problems are much more than a matter of biology. A large number of teenage girls are having sex with older men. It means that often the girl is more easily persuaded and may be too inexperienced to negotiate the use of condoms.

Africa remains the epicentre of the epidemic, with roughly 10% of the world's population, and two-thirds of the population live with HIV and AIDS.

Source: Sally Sara, reporting on ABC Radio National's PM program on 07/07/04. A transcript is available [viewed 17/01/2007] in html format.

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Young people and HIV/AIDS, Australia, 2001

Number of people under 30 currently living with HIV/AIDS in Australia diagnosed when they were younger than 30: 7,338

Number of people under 30 who have died of AIDS: 786

Number of people under 30 diagnosed with HIV in 2001: 207 (44 women, 163 men)

Source: Access Information Centre at The Alfred HIV/AIDS in Australia [viewed 17/01/2007].

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World youth HIV/AIDS risk, 2003

Rate of infection of young people with HIV/AIDS: a new infection every 14 seconds

Estimated number of youth worldwide infected with HIV/AIDS each day: 6,000

Estimated number of young people (15–24) living with HIV/AIDS, 2001: 11.8 million (7.3 million women, 4.5 million men)

Table: Young people 15–24 living with HIV/AIDS, by sex, December 2001

Region Women (%) Men (%) Total
Sub-Saharan Africa 67 33

8,600,000
North Africa and the Middle East 41 59

160,000
East Asia and the Pacific 49 51

740,000
South Asia 62 38

1,100,000
Central Asia and Eastern Europe 35 65

430,000
Latin America and the Caribbean 31 69

560,000
Industrialised countries 33 67

240,000
World 62 38

11,800,000
Source: UNICEF/UNAIDS/WHO

Percent of people aged 15–24 living with HIV who are female: 62%

Number of children (under 15 years) who have lost one or both parents to AIDS: >13 million
Projected number by 2010: 25 million

The report by the United Nations on population research focuses on the health risks and needs of young people across the world.

Source: United Nations Population Fund 2003, State of World Population 2003, UNFPA, New York [viewed 17/01/2007].

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