IN CONVERSATION WITH SAIDY BROWN
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As South Africa celebrates Youth Month this June, it's a powerful time to reflect on the achievements, challenges, and health realities facing young people. Among the most urgent of these is the ongoing impact of HIV and AIDS—a crisis that continues to disproportionately affect the youth of our nation.
The latest data from the HSRC’s SABSSM VI Survey (2024) shows that young South Africans aged 15–24 are still at the epicentre of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Despite overall national progress, this age group continues to bear the brunt of new infections.
Each week, over 1,000 adolescent girls and young women in South Africa are newly infected with HIV. Globally, sub-Saharan Africa is still home to the highest HIV and AIDS burden, and South African youth are a major part of that picture.
Young women aged 15–24 are three times more likely than their male peers to contract HIV. They account for more than 77% of new HIV infections in this age group, as highlighted by UNAIDS and UNICEF. Without early diagnosis and treatment, many of these young people are at risk of progressing to AIDS, with life-threatening consequences.
A study published in BMC Research Notes (2022) analyzed national data from 2005 to 2017 and revealed alarming trends: among 15–19-year-olds, HIV prevalence was 5.6% in girls, compared to just 0.7% in boys.
These disparities are not random. They are rooted in structural factors—like poverty, gender-based violence, unequal power dynamics in relationships, and limited access to sexual health services—that increase young women’s vulnerability to both HIV and the progression to AIDS if untreated.
The SABSSM VI report also reveals major gaps in HIV and AIDS awareness, testing, and care among youth:
Only about 74% of youth living with HIV are aware of their status.
Just 62.8% of HIV-positive youth are on antiretroviral therapy (ART).
Fewer than 70% have achieved viral suppression, leaving them at higher risk of developing AIDS.
Access to HIV testing remains a challenge—especially for boys. In 2024, only 17% of adolescent boys aged 15–19 had been tested, compared to 25% of girls, according to BroadReach and USAID.
These gaps delay treatment, increase the risk of HIV transmission, and leave many young people vulnerable to progressing from HIV infection to AIDS-related illness—often in silence.
Fortunately, efforts to turn the tide are accelerating. National and international programs such as DREAMS and Education Plus are working to keep girls in school, prevent early pregnancy, reduce violence, and increase access to prevention tools like PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).
In partnership with UNAIDS, the Department of Basic Education has emphasized the critical link between education, HIV prevention, and reducing the number of AIDS-related complications among adolescents. During 2022–2023, more than 150,000 girls aged 10–19 became pregnant, and a third dropped out of school—a pathway that often leads to higher HIV and AIDS risk.
In the face of these challenges, many young people are becoming champions for change. Youth-led organizations, campus health groups, and online advocates are using peer education, social media, and music to break down stigma, promote HIV and AIDS testing, and encourage lifelong treatment adherence.
This Youth Month, their voices remind us that awareness isn’t just about data—it’s about survival, dignity, and power.
This June, we celebrate the courage and vibrancy of South Africa’s youth. But we must also confront the reality that HIV and AIDS are still claiming young lives.
HIV is preventable. AIDS is treatable. Stigma is the enemy.
The future belongs to a generation that is empowered with knowledge, supported by services, and free to live without fear.
The latest data from the HSRC’s SABSSM VI Survey (2024) shows that young South Africans aged 15–24 are still at the epicentre of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Despite overall national progress, this age group continues to bear the brunt of new infections.
Each week, over 1,000 adolescent girls and young women in South Africa are newly infected with HIV. Globally, sub-Saharan Africa is still home to the highest HIV and AIDS burden, and South African youth are a major part of that picture.
Young women aged 15–24 are three times more likely than their male peers to contract HIV. They account for more than 77% of new HIV infections in this age group, as highlighted by UNAIDS and UNICEF. Without early diagnosis and treatment, many of these young people are at risk of progressing to AIDS, with life-threatening consequences.
A study published in BMC Research Notes (2022) analyzed national data from 2005 to 2017 and revealed alarming trends: among 15–19-year-olds, HIV prevalence was 5.6% in girls, compared to just 0.7% in boys.
These disparities are not random. They are rooted in structural factors—like poverty, gender-based violence, unequal power dynamics in relationships, and limited access to sexual health services—that increase young women’s vulnerability to both HIV and the progression to AIDS if untreated.
The SABSSM VI report also reveals major gaps in HIV and AIDS awareness, testing, and care among youth:
Only about 74% of youth living with HIV are aware of their status.
Just 62.8% of HIV-positive youth are on antiretroviral therapy (ART).
Fewer than 70% have achieved viral suppression, leaving them at higher risk of developing AIDS.
Access to HIV testing remains a challenge—especially for boys. In 2024, only 17% of adolescent boys aged 15–19 had been tested, compared to 25% of girls, according to BroadReach and USAID.
These gaps delay treatment, increase the risk of HIV transmission, and leave many young people vulnerable to progressing from HIV infection to AIDS-related illness—often in silence.
Fortunately, efforts to turn the tide are accelerating. National and international programs such as DREAMS and Education Plus are working to keep girls in school, prevent early pregnancy, reduce violence, and increase access to prevention tools like PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).
In partnership with UNAIDS, the Department of Basic Education has emphasized the critical link between education, HIV prevention, and reducing the number of AIDS-related complications among adolescents. During 2022–2023, more than 150,000 girls aged 10–19 became pregnant, and a third dropped out of school—a pathway that often leads to higher HIV and AIDS risk.
In the face of these challenges, many young people are becoming champions for change. Youth-led organizations, campus health groups, and online advocates are using peer education, social media, and music to break down stigma, promote HIV and AIDS testing, and encourage lifelong treatment adherence.
This Youth Month, their voices remind us that awareness isn’t just about data—it’s about survival, dignity, and power.
This June, we celebrate the courage and vibrancy of South Africa’s youth. But we must also confront the reality that HIV and AIDS are still claiming young lives.
HIV is preventable. AIDS is treatable. Stigma is the enemy.
The future belongs to a generation that is empowered with knowledge, supported by services, and free to live without fear.
