While the impact of HIV/AIDS on children and young people is generally well documented and understood, considerably less attention has been given to the dynamic between HIV/AIDS and armed conflict and their joint impact on children. Conflict creates and exacerbates the conditions – and the human rights abuses – in which the HIV/AIDS crisis flourishes.
This fact sheet documents some of the links between conflict and HIV/AIDS, including the disintegration of communities, the separation of children from their families, rape and sexual violence, and the destruction of schools, communication networks, infrastructure, and health services. This document also chronicles initial responses to the implications of this dynamic, placing particular attention on UNICEF’s priorities and current programmes on HIV/AIDS, children, and conflict.
©UNICEF
