A/HRC/7/14 Page 20 remains the primary cause of death in Africa. According to UNAIDS, there are over 5,700 deaths each day in the world due to HIV/AIDS. 55. The Special Rapporteur has stated in his previous reports that, without a vaccine or a cure, the main hope of reducing the devastating consequences of this disease resides – in parallel to making available universal affordable treatment in developing countries – is the widespread access to information and preventive education for HIV/AIDS. Prevention, treatment, care and support are mutually reinforcing elements that integrate an effective response to HIV/AIDS. Making information and education available are essential to effective efforts to combating this disease, as recognized by UNAIDS. 56. The Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 2003/47 of 23 April 2003, recognized the importance of sharing knowledge, experiences and achievements concerning HIV-related issues, and urged States to promote effective programmes for the prevention of HIV/AIDS, including through education and awareness-raising campaigns. The Special Rapporteur has welcomed this resolution and has raised in several of his reports the relationship between access to information and HIV/AIDS prevention, calling upon States to facilitate access to information on HIV/AIDS for all their citizens. 57. Information and education do not only refer exclusively to issues that are directly related to HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention, but also to all those issues that have a clear impact on the spread of the epidemic, even if these are indirect. The Special Rapporteur has noted that the most successful campaigns seem to be those that are tailored to specific vulnerable groups. It is thus important that data collection methods be developed in such a manner as to precisely identify these groups, allowing for information and education campaigns to be targeted to their specific context 58. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that, according to statistics, some 2 million young people aged 15-24 years become infected with HIV every year. In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, about 65 per cent of young people living with HIV/AIDS are female. The Special Rapporteur has observed that in many countries women continue to be discriminated against, and he has emphasized the importance of promoting effective programmes of

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