Session 203: Reducing the vulnerability of adolescents and young people to HIV and STIs Patterns and risk factors for HIV infection in children in eastern Zimbabwe

HIV affects children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) disproportionately to the rest of the world. In 2009 there were 2.3 million children (aged 0-14 years) living with HIV in SSA, roughly 92% of the global total. With such high numbers of HIV-positive children, it is critical to understand the sources and impacts of HIV on children. However, currently, there are few data on the prevalence of HIV and associated disease patterns in children under the age of 15 in SSA. Most infected children are believed to have acquired HIV perinatally from their HIV-positive mothers and global and national HIV estimates in children generally are extrapolated from data on pregnant women using mathematical models. Whilst some studies have found evidence of horizontal HIV transmission in children (1-3), these studies often used non-representative samples or were conducted in highly localised areas.