UNICEF at ICASA 2023

The 22nd International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) is taking place in Harare, Zimbabwe on 4-9 December, 2023. Download UNICEF's Roadmap below to find conference sessions related to children, adolescents and pregnant women.

Please also refer to the roadmap from Y+ Global for an overview of all youth-focused or youth-led sessions and save-the-dates for satellite sessions convened by UNICEF and partners.

Translating evidence into practice

With support from the Joint UN 2gether 4SRHR programme, a research partnership with the University of Oxford and University of Cape Town was established with the aim to improve HIV, SRH, and the overall well-being of adolescents by providing sustainable and scalable services. The partnership, which was ongoing from 2018 to 2023, investigated drivers of HIV and SRH risk in adolescents, and was committed to generating and using the latest evidence to propose practical solutions, shape programmes and guide decision-making for adolescents.

The results of the partnership are being used in integrating evidence into programming for adolescents throughout the region. They are summarized in a synthesis report, along with the six evidence-to-action briefs featured here.

2023 Global Snapshot on HIV and AIDS: Progress and priorities for children, adolescents and pregnant women

UNICEF's annual global and regional epidemiological and response snapshots of Eastern and Southern Africa, and West and Central Africa, based on the UNAIDS 2023 HIV estimates.

The snapshots describe where we are in terms of vertical transmission, the treatment gap, and the impact on adolescents.

Leveraging the Learning from HIV Programming for Pregnant and Parenting Adolescent Girls

This brief, the first in UNICEF's new Leveraging the Learning series, sets out to leverage the learnings from holistic, integrated, multisectoral, and age- and gender-responsive approaches to respond to and reduce early and adolescent pregnancy, support young mothers, and improve health and well-being outcomes for adolescent girls and their children. 

Highlighting promising practices for pregnant adolescents living with HIV, the report is relevant for efforts to support all pregnant adolescent girls, regardless of their HIV status.

Ending the AIDS Epidemic Among Young People in the Middle East and North Africa

THIS REPORT IS FORTHCOMING AND WILL BE PUBLISHED JANUARY 2024.

This report examines the HIV epidemic and response among young people, including key populations, in the Middle East and North Africa, using both quantitative and qualitative data. It focuses on marginalized young people who are highly exposed to various health risks but not reached with information, services and tools.

World AIDS Day 2023

For World AIDS Day 2023, UNICEF is releasing a set of new publications:

1. Global and Regional Snapshots on HIV and AIDS — global and regional statistical and response updates on children, adolescents and pregnant women.

2. Leveraging the Learning: Insights from HIV programming for pregnant and parenting adolescents — the first report in the new Leveraging the Learning series, which shares learning from HIV programmes to meet the needs of all pregnant and parenting adolescent girls, regardless of their HIV status.

Assessment of the impact of social allowances on the quality of life of CLHIV in Tajikistan

This report presents the results of a study commissioned by UNICEF Tajikistan in collaboration with the Republican AIDS Centre and the NGO Guli Surkh to evaluate the impact of social allowances on the treatment outcomes of children living with HIV in Tajikistan. Of the 7,552 persons living with HIV in Tajikistan today, 10.2 per cent are children under the age of 18. As of December 2017, 90.5 per cent of these children were covered with antiretroviral therapy.