Burden of HIV infection in women globally and in Australia

Despite major advances in HIV treatment and prevention, HIV infection remains a significant global health threat including in women. In 2017, around 7000 adolescent girls and young women became infected with HIV every week (9). Most of this burden is in sub-Saharan Africa where around 3 out of 4 new HIV infections occur in 15-19 year old girls, and 15-24 year old young women are twice as likely to be infected with HIV compared to their male counterparts (9). In contrast, the burden of HIV infection in Australia is concentrated in the male population with 10% of the estimated 26,000 individuals with HIV infection in 2017 among women 15 years or older (9).  Among Indigenous Australians, a higher proportion of diagnoses occur among women (10).