A United Nations report says children in Africa are being neglected when it comes to HIV-related treatment.
A United Nations report says children in Africa are being neglected when it comes to HIV-related treatment. The report says a large number of these children will die before the age of two.
The United Nations Aids Program (UNAIDS) and its partners warn that efforts to eradicate HIV / AIDS among children under the age of 14, adolescents, and young mothers, are now stalled, saying it has not achieved any of these. its targets for 2020. For the first time, the number of children on treatment for the disease decreased.
According to the report, it is estimated that 620,000 children living with HIV in 21 African countries were not receiving antiretroviral drugs. Only six of the 21 countries provided drugs to children in 2020. These countries are Kenya, Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
The director of UNAIDS's strategic department, Peter Ghys, says the shortcomings in treating children with the disease in the world are a major challenge. Statistics show that adults are more likely to receive treatment than children.
Ghys says the decline in the number of children being treated is also due to the coronavirus epidemic. He says treatment systems are different in different countries and some countries were better armed. Countries with poor medical systems have been shown to abandon children in the treatment of the virus.
One of the countries that have successfully fought the treatment of children with the disease is Eswatini which the UNAIDS director says despite being a small country but has the capacity to treat children and even its adults. On the other hand, countries with limited medical capacity include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Chad, and Burundi. Ghys says in those countries, there has been a mix of reasons why children should not be offered treatment, including poor health systems and political issues.
In an interview with DW Ghys he also said that it has become clear that in recent years, babies have not been tested for HIV at birth or tested but there are gaps in the systems and even when they are infected, they are not initiated into treatment. Ghys says to address this, there have recently been other testing strategies.
The United Nations report further states that two-thirds of child infections in 2020 were in six countries, namely Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia with Nigeria having the highest prevalence. of five children, one was infected with the virus.
In an interview with DW, Thembisile Xulu who is the director of the South African National Aids Council SANAC said in the country, stigma is still a major problem and a barrier in the fight against HIV.
Xulu added that South Africa is currently working on a number of measures to ensure that treatment goals are met. He says innovative approaches are needed to ensure that young children and adolescents continue with their treatment plans.
The United Nations report further states that two-thirds of child infections in 2020 were in six countries, namely Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia with Nigeria having the highest prevalence. of five children, one was infected with the virus.
In an interview with DW, Thembisile Xulu who is the director of the South African National Aids Council SANAC said in the country, stigma is still a major problem and a barrier in the fight against HIV.
Xulu added that South Africa is currently working on a number of measures to ensure that treatment goals are met. He says innovative approaches are needed to ensure that young children and adolescents continue with their treatment plans.
