Over 8 million women across Eastern and Southern Africa are living with HIV, highlighting a stark gender disparity as infections among women continue to climb, according to new data from UNAIDS.
Speaking on the regional epidemic, UNAIDS Senior Advisor for Data Systems and Evidence, Ali Feizzadeh, revealed that women aged 25 to 49 represent the largest single demographic living with HIV in the region, exceeding 8.7 million cases. In contrast, men in the same age group account for under five million cases, a figure that has remained virtually stagnant for over a decade.
Feizzadeh pointed out that targeted healthcare interventions are urgently needed to address the growing vulnerability of women across African nations.
“The largest group of population of people living with HIV, which is more than 8.7 million in our region, are the female 25 to 49 year old,” Feizzadeh said.
“The second largest group are male at the same age group, 25 to 49, which over the years has first increased and decreased. They are currently less than 5 million in our region and showing basically no change since 2010.”
–ChannelAfrica–
