GIRL CHILD | DAY | BYANYIMA

The executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Winnie Byanyima, has said they are exploring ways to achieve a digital generation plus an AIDS-free generation for African girls.

She said this in a tweet on Friday ahead of the tenth anniversary of the International Day of the Girl-Child.

The day of the girl-child that is marked every year on October 11 highlights and addresses the needs and challenges that girls face, while promoting their empowerment and human rights.

UNAIDS says in many parts of the world, one of the key challenges that adolescent girls face is HIV that can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) if not treated.

It also says globally, every week 6900 adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 years are newly infected with HIV, yet only one in three adolescent girls and young women have comprehensive and correct knowledge of how to prevent HIV.

In sub-Saharan Africa, three in four new HIV infections among 15–19-year-olds are among girls.