Policies and programmes involving youth: youth in the global economy – promoting youth participation in social and economic development (2008), para. 081
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25. Young people, especially young women in Africa, face especially high risks of HIV infection. Young people and women are particularly vulnerable to infection owing to their lack of economic and social power and their lack of the capability to decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality in order to increase their ability to protect themselves from HIV infections. They often lack the tools and information required to avoid infection and cope with AIDS. In 2006, women and girls made up 57 per cent of all people infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, where a striking 76 per cent of young people (aged 15 to 24) living with HIV are female.