More than 1,000 children around the world were infected by HIV in each day of the year 2006, says a UNICEF report released Tuesday.
In total, around 410,000 to 660,000 children under the age of 15 were infected with HIV last year, the U.N. agency said.The report added that most of the children were infected during or immediately after their birth to HIV-positive mothers and about half of the children infected last year would die of AIDS-related diseases within two years if they do not receive appropriate medical treatment.
However, the report did say there has been progress in preventing the transmission of HIV from pregnant women to their babies.
UNICEF spokesman Patrick McCormick said that only seven countries worldwide (Argentina, Brazil, Botswana, Jamaica, Russia, Thailand, and Ukraine) are on track to reach the goal of providing access to treatment for 80 percent of HIV-infected pregnant women.
In 2006, just 9% of HIV-infected pregnant women in low- to middle-income countries received antiretroviral drugs that can reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Each year, AIDS kills more than 2.9 million people worldwide, including about 380,000 children.
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