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Over 500,000 young people in Latin America with HIV

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-01 10:32

MEXICO CITY  -- At least 500,000 Latin American yong people aged between 15 and 24 are HIV carriers, five percent more than in 2006, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said Thursday.

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Among the 33 million people in the world living with HIV/AIDS, 5.5 percent are teenagers and young adults, and about one third of them are Latin Americans, the UNFPA director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Marcela Suazo, told a press conference at the UN country headquarters here.

The rise is an alarm to organizations and governments to intensify prevention campaigns, she said.

It is very important that education and health ministries work jointly, especially in Latin America, so as to successfully combat the disease, Suazo added.

"When we have access to information and knowledge and there are better skills and abilities to take decisions, it is possible to decide better and we can protect ourselves better," she said.

Some 75 percent of the new cases infected through sexual contact, thus education on safe sex and access to relevant information are crucial as preventive measures.