A young person is infected with HIV every 14 seconds, a report
from the United Nations Population Fund reveals. Some 6,000
young people are infected every day. Around 6,000 people between
the ages of 15 and 24 catch the disease every day. Half of all
new infections are now in people under the age of 25 and most of
these are young women living in the developing world. Thoraya
Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the fund, said urgent action
was needed to tackle what she described as a "global
catastrophe". The report, called The State of World Population,
shows that nearly half of the world's population is under the
age of 25. Of these, 87% live in developing countries. One in
four or 238 million live in extreme poverty, surviving on less
than $1 a day. Some 57 million young men and 96 million young
women between the ages of 15 and 24 cannot read or write. More
than 13 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or
both parents to Aids. The report suggests that poverty,
illiteracy and poor services are co