Children, HIV and AIDS

Regional snapshot: Latin America and the Caribbean

DECEMBER 2018

Outside of sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean is the region with the FIGURE 3. Number of children and adolescents aged
0–19 living with HIV, by country, 2017
highest HIV incidence rate among adolescents aged 10–19 years, and key indicators show
only limited progress in meeting their HIV prevention needs. Since 2010, for example, the
estimated 19,000 new HIV infections annually among 10- to 19-year-olds is essentially
unchanged. The situation is roughly the same among younger children. Levels of HIV
treatment coverage for children aged 0–14 years living with HIV have increased, but slightly,
and the estimated number (3,500) of children aged 0–9 who were newly infected with HIV
in 2017 is only slightly lower than in previous years.

FIGURE 1. Annual number of new HIV infections among children aged 0–9, by period of
transmission, 2010–2017
Legend
4,000 Perinatal infections
<500 39,000
3,500
Post-natal infections
3,100
3,000
2,700
Country Estimate Lower Upper
Data source: UNAIDS Brazil 39,000 24,000 55,000
2,500 2,400 2,400 2,300
2,200 2,200 2018 estimates
2,100 Haiti 12,000 7,800 16,000
2,000 1,900 1,900 Note: All perinatal and
1,700 Mexico 10,000 7,600 13,000
post-natal paediatric
1,500
1,500 1,500 1,400 1,400 1,400 infections are assumed Colombia 5,900 4,200 8,400
to occur before age 5. Argentina 4,300 3,300 5,400
1,000 Guatemala 3,500 2,800 4,400
The dotted lines above
500 and below the numbers Peru 3,100 2,100 5,100
in the chart refer to the Dominican Republic 2,700 1,900 4,400
0 confidence interval. Chile 2,600 1,900 3,200
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Ecuador 1,900 1,000 3,800
Honduras 1,700 1,200 2,200
FIGURE 2. Annual number of new HIV infections among adolescents aged 10–19, by sex, Jamaica 1,400 1,100 2,000
2010–2017 El Salvador 1,400 1,100 1,700
Panama 1,300 <1,000 1,600
35,000 Adolescent girls Bolivia 1,200 <1,000 2,000
Paraguay 1,200 <1,000 3,000
30,000 Adolescent boys Cuba <1,000 <1,000 1,100
Guyana <1,000 <500 <1,000
25,000 Data source: UNAIDS 2018 Costa Rica <1,000 <500 <1,000
estimates. Nicaragua <500 <500 <1,000
20,000 Note: Almost all sexually Uruguay <500 <500 <1,000
transmitted HIV infections Belize <500 <500 6,900
15,000 are assumed to occur after Trinidad and Tobago <500 <500 <500
12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 age 14; the numbers of
Suriname <500 <500 <500
10,000 8,700 sexually transmitted infections
8,500 8,400 8,200 8,100 8,000 7,900 7,800 Latin America and the Caribbean 100,000 69,000 150,000
occurring before age 15 are
5,000 negligible. The dotted lines
Data source: UNAIDS 2018 estimates.
above and below the numbers
Note: Due to rounding, estimates may not add up to the total. This map does not claim any official
in the chart refer to the
0 position by the United Nations. Countries are classified according to the Latin America and the
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 confidence interval.
Caribbean geographical region. Data are not available for the Bahamas, Barbados and Venezuela.
Countries with no data and countries outside of the geographical region are shown in grey.
KEY FACTS: Analysis FIGURE 4. Number of pregnant women living with HIV
Children, HIV and AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2017 and number receiving antiretrovirals for the prevention
Continued stalled progress in the region of mother-to-child transmission, 2010–2017
Epidemiology Estimate Lower Upper will hinder efforts to sustain achievements
30,000
Number of children and adolescents living with HIV 100,000 69,000 150,000 to date or to make the necessary gains Pregnant
women
Children aged 0–9 24,000 18,000 33,000 towards ending HIV as a threat among 25,000
73% living with
Adolescents aged 10–19 77,000 51,000 110,000 69% 69% 72% 72%
children and adolescents. However, 20,000 66% HIV
Number of new HIV infections, children and adolescents 23,000 11,000 43,000 58%

Children aged 0–9 3,500 2,500 5,500

there are signs pointing to areas where 15,000
50%
Pregnant
women
Adolescents aged 10–19 19,000 8,500 38,000 concentrated efforts could have significant
10,000 receiving
Adolescent girls 7,800 4,700 13,000 impacts: Early infant diagnosis (EID) ARVs
5,000
Adolescent boys 12,000 3,100 32,000 coverage rates that have changed only
New HIV infections per 1,000 adolescents aged 15–19 0.35 0.15 0.69 slightly since 2014 and estimates that 61 0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Adolescent girls 0.29 0.18 0.49
per cent of new HIV infections among
Adolescent boys 0.41 0.11 1.14
Number of AIDS-related deaths, children and adolescents 3,000 1,800 5,200
children aged 0–9 years in 2017 occurred
Children aged 0–9 2,100 1,400 3,500 during pregnancy or delivery indicate FIGURE 5. Number of HIV-exposed infants and number
Adolescents aged 10–19 900 500 1,700 notable gaps in prevention of mother-to- tested for HIV within two months of birth, 2010–2017
Number of pregnant women living with HIV 29,000 23,000 37,000 child transmission (PMTCT) programmes,
Mother-to-child transmission rate of HIV, final 11.9 10.0 14.7 25,000 HIV-exposed
including access to testing for newborns infants
Perinatal transmission 7.2 5.7 9.1
and pregnant mothers. 20,000
Post-natal transmission 4.7 3.7 5.9 Infants
HIV response Estimate Lower Upper 15,000 tested
PMTCT coverage (ART) (%) 73 58 92 Meanwhile, it is evident that improving 45% 44% 44%
47%
37%
Early infant diagnosis (%) 47 36 59 results among adolescents requires greater 10,000 31% 30%
ART coverage, children aged 0–14 (%) 54 35 77 focus on boys, who in 2017 accounted for
5,000 14%

Note: Due to rounding, estimates may not add up to the total.

about 60 per cent of all new HIV infections
Indicator definitions: Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rate: Number of new HIV infections among those aged 10–19 in the region. 0
among children under 5 per 100 pregnant women living with HIV in the last year. New HIV infections 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
per 1,000 adolescents: Number of new HIV infections among adolescents age 15–19 per 1,000 Between 2010 and 2017, the annual number
adolescents. PMTCT coverage: Percentage of pregnant women living with HIV who received lifelong
of new HIV infections among boys in that
ART to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Early infant diagnosis: Percentage of infants
born to HIV-positive mothers who were tested for HIV within two months of birth. ART coverage age group fell by only 5 per cent compared FIGURE 6. Number of children aged 0–14 living with HIV
among children aged 0–14: Percentage of children aged 0–14 living with HIV who are receiving and number receiving ART, 2010–2017
antiretroviral therapy. with a decline of 10 per cent among girls.
45,000
Children
40,000 living with
35,000
HIV

30,000 Children
on ART
25,000
45% 48% 48% 49% 50% 53% 54%
20,000 45%

Since 2010, new HIV 15,000

60 per cent of children 59 per cent
infections have decreased 10,000

and adolescents living with of AIDS-related deaths 5,000

HIV in Latin America and the more slowly for boys among children 0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Caribbean reside in three countries: than for girls and adolescents
Brazil, Haiti and Mexico occur before age 5
Data source: Global AIDS Monitoring 2018 and UNAIDS 2018 estimates.
Note: PMTCT coverage includes most effective antiretroviral regimens,
excluding single-dose nevirapine. Infant HIV testing coverage includes only
those countries reporting, representing 91 per cent of HIV-exposed infants.
Source for all data: Global AIDS Monitoring 2018, UNAIDS 2018 estimates and UNICEF Global Databases of nationally representative
The percentages in the figures refer to coverage rates.
population-based surveys 2010–2017. For more information, visit data.unicef.org.