back to top HIV/AIDS and Vulnerable Groups
AIDS is caused by HIV, a virus that can be passed from person to person through sexual fluids, blood and breast milk. Worldwide the majority of HIV infections are transmitted through sex between men and women, and half of all adults living with HIV are women. Certain groups of people have been particularly affected and these include injecting drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men.
As a sexually transmitted infection, HIV particularly affects adolescents and young adults. Three thousand new infections occur among young people aged between 15-24 every day and people in this age group account for more than a third of all new HIV infections. Deaths of young adults have an especially damaging impact on their families and communities: skills are lost, workforces shrink and children are orphaned. In some African countries, life expectancies have fallen below 40 years, whereas they would have been above 60 without AIDS. There are around 16.6 million children who have lost a parent to AIDS.
From this page you can access comprehensive information on the major groups most at risk of and affected by HIV and AIDS; including women, children, orphans, men who have sex with men and prisoners. What makes these individuals vulnerable to HIV, the need for targeted interventions, and a detailed analysis of the impact of HIV on communities, households and family structures is also covered.