DURBAN, South Africa (CMC) – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that adolescents are dying of AIDS at an alarming rate.

UNICEF’s announcement came as the 21st International AIDS Conference opened here on Monday.

The UN body said an average of 29 adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 are infected with HIV every hour and called for a redoubling of prevention and treatment efforts throughout the world, including the Caribbean.

“After all of the saved and improved lives thanks to prevention, treatment and care; after all of the battles won against prejudice and ignorance about this disease; after all of the wonderful milestones achieved, AIDS is still the number two cause of death for those aged 10-19 globally – and number one in Africa,” Anthony Lake, UNICEF’s executive director, told delegates here.

While rates of new infections among adolescents have levelled off, UNICEF said it is concerned that projected increases in their population in the coming years will mean an increase in the overall number of infections.

Girls are particularly vulnerable, making up about 65 per cent of new adolescent infections worldwide, according to UNICEF.

In sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for about 70 per cent of people in the world living with HIV, three out of every four adolescents newly infected by HIV in 2015 were girls.

The UN said the Caribbean is second to sub-Saharan Africa in the prevalence of HIV.

UNICEF said fear of testing keeps many young people unaware of their status.

Among adolescents, only 13 per cent of girls and nine per cent of boys were tested within the last year, UNICEF said.

A new poll conducted on U-report showed that an estimated 68 per cent of 52,000 young people surveyed in 16 countries said they did not want to be tested, both because they were afraid of an HIV-positive result, and because they were worried about social stigma.

“The battle against AIDS will not be over until we redouble prevention and treatment efforts; until we reach those young lives still being denied the progress that millions before them have enjoyed; and until we end the stigma and fear that prevent so many young people from getting tested,” Lake said.

Meanwhile, UNICEF said new infections among children due to transmission at birth or during breastfeeding have decreased dramatically since 2000, dropping by 70 per cent in the period.

UNICEF has called for stepped-up efforts to fully eliminate the transmission of the virus from mother to child.