BY AGENCY REPORTER
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS has said that about half of the world’s 1.7 million children living with HIV could not access treatment in 2020.
The disclosure was part of the final report from the Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free initiative of UNAIDS and partners.
In the report, UNAIDS warned that progress towards ending AIDS among children, adolescents and young women had been stalled and none of the targets for 2020 were met.
The agency’s report said that the 800,000 children currently living with HIV had no access to treatment.
It also showed that opportunities to identify infants and young children living with HIV early were being missed because more than one third of children born by mothers living with HIV were not tested.
The report stated that if untreated, about 50 per cent of children living with HIV would die before their second birthday.
Commenting on the report, Shannon Hader, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme, said it was unfortunate that in spite of the early progress recorded over the years, children were falling way behind adults.
Hader said that over 20 years ago, initiatives for families and children to prevent vertical transmission and to eliminate children dying of AIDS kick-started the global AIDS response.
“This stemmed from an unprecedented activation of all partners, yet, despite early and dramatic progress, despite more tools and knowledge than ever before, children are falling way behind adults and way behind our goals.
“The inequalities are striking. Children are nearly 40 per cent less likely than adults to be on life-saving treatment (54 per cent of children versus 74 per cent of adults), and account for a disproportionate number of deaths. Just five per cent of all people living with HIV are children, but children account for 15 per cent of all AIDS-related deaths.
“This is about children’s right to health and healthy lives considering their value in our societies. It’s time to reactivate on all fronts – we need the leadership, activism, and investments to do what’s right for kids,” she said.
The report, while highlighting major disparities between countries, revealed that 11 countries account for nearly 70 per cent of the missing children living with HIV but not on treatment.
According to her, as the 2020 targets were missed, the 21 focus countries in Africa made better progress than the non-focus countries.
Hader said, “11 countries account for nearly 70 per cent of the missing children – those living with HIV but not on treatment.”
She added that there was a 24 per cent decline in new HIV infections among children from 2015 to 2020 in focus countries versus a 20 per cent decline globally.
The focus countries also achieved 89 per cent treatment coverage for pregnant women living with HIV, compared to 85 per cent globally, but are still short of the target of nine per cent and there were huge differences between countries.
Angeli Achrekar, acting United States Global AIDS Coordinator, said that while they were deeply distressed by the global paediatric HIV shortfalls, they were, however, encouraged by the fact that they largely had the tools needed to change the situation.
Achrekar advised that the report should be a call to action to challenge complacency and to work tirelessly to close the gap.
The report said that progress had been made in the prevention of HIV in adolescent girls and young women with a figure of 27 per cent from 2015 to 2020.
However, the number of adolescent girls and young women acquiring HIV in the 21 focus countries was 200 000, twice the global target for 2020 (100,000).
“In addition, COVID-19 and school closures are now disrupting many educational, sexual and reproductive health services for adolescent girls and young women.
“There is an urgent need to redouble HIV prevention efforts to reach young women and adolescent girls,’’ it stated.
