Worldwide, 60% of new HIV transmissions are to women.1 This is most evident
in sub-Saharan Africa, home to three quarters of all HIV-positive women 15
years and older.2 Women and girls in Africa make up 59% of adults and 75% of
young people between the ages of 15 and 24 living with HIV/AIDS.3 Internationally,
the annual female AIDS death toll is projected to rise to almost 1.9 million
by 2015, eclipsing the male death toll by over 23%.4