Number of women and children living with HIV
Situation and trends
Number of women aged 15 and over living with HIV
The proportion of women living with HIV has remained stable, at almost 50% of the global total. About 15 million adults living with HIV are women. Women comprised 58% of the adults living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011, as they have for most of the past decade.
Number of children under 15 living with HIV
The estimated number of children living with HIV increased to 3.1 million [2.8 million–3.4 million] in 2011. Globally, deaths among children younger than 15 years of age are at the same time also declining. In 2011, an estimated 230 000
[200 000–270 000] children less than 15 died from AIDS-related causes, 29% fewer than in 2005. This trend reflects the steady expansion of services to prevent transmission of HIV to infants and an increase in access to treatment for children. From 2009 to 2011, antiretroviral prophylaxis prevented 409 000 children from acquiring HIV infection in low- and middle-income countries.