The Facts:
Regardless of age, marital status or where an individual lives, all sexually active individuals are at-risk for a sexually transmitted disease -- including HIV/AIDS.
Globally:
- Each year, approximately 340 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections occur around the world. That number does not include non-curable diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis B, genital herpes, and genital warts.
- 1 million people die each year from reproductive tract infections, including sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) other than HIV/AIDS.
- Many pregnancy-related complications, including sepsis, miscarriage, premature birth, and stillbirths are caused by untreated sexually transmitted diseases.
- “Millions of young [women] around the world are married each year, and often to older men. This puts them at higher risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease compared to a woman married to a younger, less sexually experienced man.”
- Worldwide, the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases and infections occur among those aged 15 to 24. Globally, complications from pregnancy, abortion, and birth are the leading causes of death among 15-to-19-year-old girls.
- Countries with a low teenage pregnancy rate include Japan and most western European countries. Those with the highest rates include Bulgaria, Romania, and the United States.
- The imperative to start sex education early is clear. Fifty-nine percent of students living in the least developed countries make it beyond 5th grade.
In the United States:
- More than half of all Americans will contract a sexually transmitted disease in their lifetime, some treatable and some not. Over 65 million people living in the United States have a sexually transmitted disease.
- 19 million Americans contract a sexually transmitted disease each year, many of which can't be cured. Half of all new infections are among 15-to-24-year-olds.
- Of all reported sexually transmitted diseases in the United States, chlamydia is the most common, followed by gonorrhea.
- Syphilis is once again on the rise. Like with many other STDs, syphilis makes the transmission of the HIV virus two to five times more likely.
HIV/AIDS
- In 2005, over 38.6 million people were estimated to be living with HIV. In 2005, the AIDS epidemic claimed more than 2.8 million lives, and 4.1 million people acquired HIV. The epidemic is still growing fast.
- An estimated 20 million children will lose a parent to AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa alone by 2010.
- Without intervention, 26% of infants born to HIV-positive mothers will contract the virus. Most of these infants will die before they reach age 5.
- If health care providers treat HIV-infected pregnant women and deliver their babies by cesarean section, the chances of the baby being infected can be reduced to a rate of 1%. HIV infection of newborns has been almost eradicated in the United States due to appropriate treatment.
In the United States:
- As many as 950,000 Americans may be infected with HIV, one-quarter of whom are unaware of their infection.
- Of those now living with HIV/AIDS, more than 50% are women.
- The female condom is the only currently available method that women can initiate that provides protection from both unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS.
- Approximately 78 percent of HIV-infected women are minorities and most become infected through heterosexual transmission.
- Approximately 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year in the United States.
- HIV is the leading cause of death for African-American men ages 35-44.
What Can Be Done
- Key to eradicating HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted disease is prevention, including the promotion of consistent condom use, as well as abstinence.
- International declarations such as the ICPD’s Programme of Action should be implemented.
UNGASS & Compact:
- Support for other non-governmental efforts, including: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS
Expert Resources:
American Social Health Association
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
Center for Health and Gender Equity
Global Coalition on Women and AIDS
