200k new HIV infections, 51k deaths in SA
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS says the world is not moving fast enough to stop the spread of HIV.
Nelson Muffuh, who is the UNAIDS resident coordinator in South Africa, was one of the speakers at the 11th South Africa AIDS conference, which started on Monday at the Durban ICC.
READ: Phaahla: Retention rate for TB medicine key to winning battle
"Last year, approximately 200 000 South Africans became newly infected and 51 000 from Aids-related illnesses. Infections and deaths are indeed following the lines of inequality," he said.
Muffuh said women and girls accounted for most of the new infections recorded in the past year.
ALSO READ: HIV-free country can be achieved - Phaahla
"Adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24 years are four times more likely to be infected by HIV than boys and men of the same age.
"We must deepen our push and fight to eliminate the disproportionate vulnerability of girls to HIV."
