Because HIV infection often progresses quickly to AIDS in children, most of the close to 3 million children under 15 who have been infected since the start of the epidemic have developed AIDS, and most of these have died. Most children orphaned by AIDS are concentrated in those countries most affected by the epidemic. This figure is increasing by an estimated 50,000 children each year. Even children who are neither infected with HIV nor orphaned by AIDS are affected by the socioeconomic fallout from the epidemic in hard-hit communities and countries. Directing prevention efforts to children is crucial in minimizing the further spread of the epidemic.
Adolescents are especially vulnerable to infection through sex or drug injecting.
Commercial sexual exploitation and domestic sexual abuse of children are contributing risk factors for HIV infection among children. Figures reported to the 1996 World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children indicated that worldwide more than 1 million children enter the sex trade every year. An unknown number of children worldwide are at risk of sexual abuse by relatives, other members of the child's community or strangers. Estimates suggest that there are as many as 100 million children and adolescents in the world who are working or living on the street, often in violent and dangerous situations. Health and Relief uses WebTrends Live to analyze traffic to this web site.