In the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in June 2011, world leaders set bold new targets for the AIDS response to be reached by 2015. These include reducing sexual transmission of HIV by 50%, providing treatment for 15 million people living with HIV, and eliminating stigma and discrimination against people living with and affected by HIV. Although significant progress has been made during the past 30 years, there are still more than 3000 young people (aged 15–24) newly infected with HIV each day.
According to UNAIDS estimates, young people accounted for 42% of all new HIV infections among adults (aged 15–49) in 2010. Only 24% of young women and 36% of young men in low- and middle-income countries responded correctly when asked five questions on HIV prevention and misconceptions around HIV transmission. Five million young people worldwide are estimated to be living with HIV today.