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3. HIV and STIs: The Return of a Forgotten Threat Among 15–24-Year-Olds

For years, the fight against HIV was held up as a public-health success story. But in several developed countries, progress is stalling, and in some cases reversingamong young people. In France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, a new generation is confronting risks many believed had been left behind.

Not long ago, the prospect of a generation largely untouched by HIV felt within reach: new diagnoses were falling, treatments were becoming more effective, and access to testing was expanding. Yet as 2025 draws to a close, public-health agencies are voicing growing concern. In all three countries, infections among young people are rising again. This generation—one that didn’t live through the crisis of the 1980s—is suddenly back on the front line of an epidemic once thought to be nearing its end.

In France, a recent report from Santé Publique France sounded the alarm: HIV diagnoses among 15–24-year-olds have jumped by 41% over the last decade, even as infections decline sharply among adults. Bacterial sexually transmitted infections, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, are also surging in the same age group. The pattern is far from unique to France; similar trends are playing out in the UK and the US.

In the United Kingdom, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reports that gonorrhea cases among young adults tripled in 2022, accompanied by a steep increase in syphilis. Young men who have sex with men (MSM) remain among the most affected, but rising numbers among young heterosexuals point to a broader shift. Prevention messages that once dominated public space now feel distant, and condom use continues to decline.

The United States shows a comparable picture. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia are all climbing among young people. Particularly troubling is the rise in congenital syphilis, passed from mother to child, which has quadrupled in a decade, underscoring deep inequalities in prevention and access to care. While national HIV numbers are still decreasing overall, local flare-ups are emerging, especially among young adults and in urban nightlife settings.

Understanding the Causes

What’s driving this “return of risk”? Experts first point to the normalization of HIV. Whereas thirty years ago the virus evoked fear and death, today, it is widely viewed as a chronic, manageable condition thanks to antiretroviral treatments that allow people to live long, healthy lives. This shift has helped reduce stigma and improve quality of life, but it has also chipped away at prevention reflexes.

Condoms, once the emblem of a generation mobilized against the epidemic, have been eclipsed by PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a pill that provides strong protection against HIV. Yet PrEP remains underused among young people, little known outside major cities, and ineffective against other STIs, whose resurgence provides a more accurate snapshot of risky practices.

Several studies suggest that the Covid-19 pandemic worsened this decline: fewer routine checkups, social isolation, and among some young people, either a heightened sense of invulnerability or a feeling of fatalism. Rising economic insecurity, uneven access to healthcare, and inconsistent sex education also play a significant role, particularly in disadvantaged communities and among minority groups.

A Global Phenomenon

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the surge in STIs among young people is now a global trend that affects every region. The underlying drivers are often similar: declining prevention efforts, fatigue with public-health messaging, and a misplaced confidence in medical advances.

The data call for nuance. The rebound of HIV among young people remains limited at the population level, but it highlights weaknesses in public-health communication, in access to prevention tools, and in the ability to keep collective attention focused. Past successes should never be mistaken for permanent victory.

Responding to this challenge requires more than medical solutions. It calls for rethinking sex education, expanding access to PrEP, bringing condoms back into the center of prevention strategies, and engaging young people where they actually are—on social platforms, in apps, and in their everyday environments. It’s time to bridge the memory of the epidemic with the realities and aspirations of today’s youth, so that the fight against HIV and STIs becomes a shared priority once again.