The International AIDS Conference is this week in Washington, DC. 

Speakers ranging from Hillary Rodham Clinton to Elton John will come together to evaluate where the world stands in ending the AIDS pandemic and decide the next steps toward this goal.  Against this backdrop, it seems appropriate to discuss some important facts about the impact of HIV/AIDS on girls.

• In Sub-Saharan Africa, 75 percent of HIV-infected youths between the ages of 15 and 24 are girls.

• HIV/AIDS is threatening recent gains in the number of girls enrolled in schools because the responsibility to care for family members infected with HIV/AIDS often falls on young girls.

• Surveys show that fewer girls than boys aged 15-19 know how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. 

• UNICEF outlines 3 priorities as they work to lower the rate of HIV/AIDS among young girls:  1) getting and keeping girls enrolled in school, 2) providing life skills-based education and 3) protecting girls from gender-based school violence.

Pay attention this week to what is happening at the International AIDS Conference (you can follow @GirlUp and @unfoundation on twitter to stay in the know!) and think about what you can do to contribute towards the campaign against HIV/AIDS.

We’ve come a long way, but there is much more to be done.

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