DAKAR: The UN on Wednesday sought a strong political commitment from African leaders to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS in the continent and achieve the target of ending the scourge globally by 2030. Berthilde Gahongayeri, the head of the UN Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said HIV is still a pandemic globally, causing more deaths annually among key populations in West and Central Africa. "A combination of strong political commitment, technical expertise and community mobilization, is needed to continue the progress towards preventing vertical transmission of HIV," Gahongayeri said. On Tuesday, the UNAID regional office released a report, titled Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroad. The report shows that 196,000 new infections were reported in West and Central Africa this year, a significant decrease from 450,000 infections in 2010. It also indicates that adolescent girls and young women between the age of 15 and 24 account for 19% of new infections globally. Dr. Jascal Eby, a health expert and regional advisor at the UNAIDS regional office, blamed ignorance, early marriage and low usage of condoms as responsible for the spread of the infection among the young population. "We must prevent our people; the young and children from HIV," he told Anadolu. Over one quarter (about 26%) of all children living with HIV globally are in West and Central Africa, according to a December 2023 HIV/AIDS overview by UNICEF. Source: Anadolu Agency