GLOBAL EPIDEMIC

AIDS is a disease we know how to prevent. Period. And yet, each day approximately 4,500 people will lose their lives to AIDS and another nearly 6,500 will become newly infected with HIV. (UNAIDS Fact sheet, 2013)

AFRICA EPIDEMIC

The epidemic is disproportionately affecting specific locations and populations. Sub-Saharan Africa is by far the hardest hit region of the epidemic. Of the 35 million people living with HIV, an estimated 24 million are living there.

Nearly one in every 20 adults is living with the virus in this region.

South Africa’s population represents 1% of the world population but 19% of the HIV positive population.
UNAIDS, GAP Report, 2013

YOUTH EPIDEMIC

Despite these bleak statistics, tremendous strides have been made in the fight against HIV. AIDS is no longer a death sentence for most of the world. More people are on treatment than ever before and we are at a point where we can now realistically talk about an AIDS-free generation and the beginning of the end of AIDS. But young people are slipping through the cracks.

In South Africa, where CTAOP primarily works, there is a combination of challenges along with the normal pressures of adolescence. These challenges are complex and include gender inequity, high crime rates, lack of cohesive family units, high incidence of rape and sexual misuse, misinformation or lack of information about HIV, chronic unemployment, lack of access to health services, and the stigma that surrounds the disease.