In Sub-Saharan Africa in 2017, 4.1 percent of adults (ages 15-49) carried the HIV infection, a fall from 5.6 percent in 2000. However, young women ages 15-24 are still disproportionately affected with 2 percent being infected, and are twice as likely to be infected with it as young men (1 percent).
In Eswatini, about 20,000 young women are infected by HIV— 17 percent of that age group, compared to less than 3 percent of men. Despite the availability of antiretroviral medicines, AIDS-related illnesses are the second leading cause of death for young women ages 15-24 years in Africa according to UNAIDS.