UNICEF has highlighted that insufficient attention is being given to preventing the transmission of HIV among young people under the age of 25 in the UK.

New fiugres show Britain has almost twice as many new HIV cases diagnosed in a year as any other west European country. There were 7,734 new cases of the virus recorded in 2007, nearly double the figure reported at the turn of the millennium, according to Unicef.

In a new report, ‘HIV prevention with young people: The key to tackling the epidemic’, the world’s leading children’s rights organisation called for urgent action, stressing that prevention of HIV among young people is key to tackling the global epidemic.

The report marks the launch of UNICEF UK’s ‘We want to live free from HIV’ campaign, which aims to raise £2 million for HIV prevention and remind governments of the importance of effective HIV prevention amongst young people.