Preventing HIV among adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The prospect of HIV infection remains one of the most significant public health risks facing adolescents. Twenty-five percent of all global HIV infections occur among people between the ages of 15 and 24 years with new infections among some subgroups reaching record proportions. Sub-Saharan Africa has been disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic as approximately threequarters of all youth living with HIV/AIDS reside there with HIV the leading cause of death among adolescents/ young adults 15 to 29 years old. Sub-Saharan Africa is a richly diverse mosaic of nations cultures traditions customs languages and religions. Likewise the HIV epidemic is fueled by concurrent epidemics of poverty internecine conflict deeply embedded cultural practices and of course other prevalent diseases. Understanding the full spectrum of issues and subsequently creating efficacious HIV risk-reduction interventions for sub-Saharan adolescents will require intensified research efforts. The articles in this issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health shed light on factors that drive the HIV epidemic and offer promise for designing prevention programs.