A grass-root Non-Government Organization working on HIV/AIDS eradication said that lack of awareness among both rural and urban adolescents has increased the incidence of this infection among 10 to 19 year olds in prosperous states.
Jana Bikash Parishad (JBP) says that Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat (all rich in development and medical facilities) have higher than national average adolescent infection of the killer disease. Of the 25% of the population of the nation falls in this age group and about 4% of this group are infected with HIV/AIDS. Almost 50% of those infected were women and children in rural areas. Displaying a strong correlation between education and social stability, 10 to 35% of migrant laborers and 30-40% of dropouts were found infected.
The actual causes of infection of a high percentage of children are unknown
