Although the available HIV-related data on adolescents are limited, increased HIV vulnerability in the second decade of life is evident in the data. Improving data gathering, analysis, and reporting systems specific to adolescents is essential to monitoring progress and improving health outcomes for adolescents. More systematic and better quality disaggregated data are needed to understand differences by sex, age, geography, and socioeconomic factors and to address equity and human rights obligations, especially for key populations.

Background: Ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is a significant challenge, as new HIV infections among adolescents and young people have not decreased fast enough to curb the epidemic. The combination of slow HIV response and increasing youth populations 15–24 could affect progress towards 2030 goals.Objective: This analysis aimed to describe global and regional trends from 2010–2050 in the HIV epidemic among adolescents and young people by accounting for demographic projections and recent trends in HIV interventions.Methods: 148 national HIV estimates files were used to project the HIV epidemic to 2050. Numbers of people living with HIV and new HIV infections were projected by sex and five-year age group. Along with demographic data, projections were based on three key assumptions: future trends in HIV incidence, antiretroviral treatment coverage, and coverage of antiretrovirals for prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Results represent nine geographic regions.Results: While the number of adolescents and young people is projected to increase by 10% from 2010–2050, those living with HIV is projected to decrease by 61%. In Eastern and Southern Africa, which hosts the largest HIV epidemic, new HIV infections among adolescents and young people are projected to decline by 84% from 2010–2050. In West and Central Africa, which hosts the second-largest HIV epidemic, new infections are projected to decline by 35%.Conclusions: While adolescents and young people living with HIV are living longer and ageing into adulthood, if current trends continue, the number of new HIV infections is not projected to decline fast enough to end AIDS as a health threat in this age group. Regional variations suggest that while progress in Eastern and Southern Africa could reduce the size of the epidemic by 2050, other regions exhibit slower rates of decline among adolescents and young people.

Background: COVID-19 prevention and mitigation efforts were abrupt and challenging for most countries with the protracted lockdown straining socioeconomic activities. Marginalized groups and individuals are particularly vulnerable to adverse effects of the pandemic such as human rights abuses and violations which can lead to psychological distress. In this review, we focus on mental distress and disturbances that have emanated due to human rights restrictions and violations amidst the pandemic. We underscore how mental health is both directly impacted by the force of pandemic and by prevention and mitigation structures put in place to combat the disease.Methods: We conducted a review of relevant studies examining human rights violations in COVID-19 response, with a focus on vulnerable populations, and its association with mental health and psychological well-being. We searched PubMed and Embase databases for studies between December 2019 to July 2020. Three reviewers evaluated the eligibility criteria and extracted data.Results: Twenty-four studies were included in the systematic inquiry reporting on distress due to human rights violations. Unanimously, the studies found vulnerable populations to be at a high risk for mental distress. Limited mobility rights disproportionately harmed psychiatric patients, low-income individuals, and minorities who were at higher risk for self-harm and worsening mental health. Healthcare workers suffered negative mental health consequences due to stigma and lack of personal protective equipment and stigma. Other vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children, and refugees also experienced negative consequences.Conclusions: This review emphasizes the need to uphold human rights and address long term mental health needs of populations that have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic. Countries can embed a proactive psychosocial response to medical management as well as in existing prevention strategies. International human rights guidelines are useful in this direction but an emphasis should be placed on strengthening rights informed psychosocial response with specific strategies to enhance mental health in the long-term. We underscore that various fundamental human rights are interdependent and therefore undermining one leads to a poor impact on the others. We strongly recommend global efforts toward focusing both on minimizing fatalities, protecting human rights, and promoting long term mental well-being.

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Progress towards achievement of global targets for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and paediatric HIV care and treatment is an integral part of global and national HIV and AIDS responses. This paper documents the development of the global and national monitoring and reporting systems for PMTCT and paediatric HIV care and treatment programmes, achievements and remaining challenges. A review of the development of the monitoring and reporting process since 2002-2016 was conducted using existing published literature and taking into account changes in WHO HIV treatment guidelines, global HIV goals and targets, programmatic and methodological developments, and increased need for interagency partnerships, coordination and harmonization of global monitoring and reporting mechanisms. The number and type of indicators reported increased and evolved from monitoring of existence of national policies and guidelines, service delivery sites and trained health workers and coverage of PMTCT and paediatric HIV interventions to measuring outcomes and impact in reducing new HIV infections and AIDS related deaths, including efforts to validate elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. These changes were required to mirror changes in WHO and national PMTCT and HIV treatment guidelines. The number of countries reporting PMTCT coverage increased from 53 in 2003 to over 130 in 2015. National monitoring processes have also expanded in scope and the capacity to report on disaggregated data by type of ARV regimen and for paediatric HIV care and treatment has increased. Monitoring of PMTCT and paediatric HIV programmes has contributed a rich body of evidence that helped monitor how quickly countries were adopting and implementing the latest WHO HIV treatment guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women and children. The reported data and experiences were instrumental in shaping global policies, national programmes, and investment choices.