UNICEF has reported that every minute and 40 seconds a child or young person under the age of 20 was newly infected with HIV in 2019, bringing the total number of children living with HIV to 2.8 million.
The report, titled, Reimagining a Resilient HIV Response for Children, Adolescents and Pregnant Women Living with HIV, warns that children are being left behind in the fight against HIV.
It is understood that in 2019, a little more than half of children worldwide had access to life-saving treatment, significantly lagging behind coverage for both mothers (85 percent) and all adults living with HIV (62 percent).
Nearly 110,000 children died of AIDS in 2019, according to the report.
‘Even as the world struggles in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic, hundreds of thousands of children continue to suffer the ravages of the HIV epidemic’, Executive Director at UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, said.
‘There is still no HIV vaccine. Children are still getting infected at alarming rates, and they are still dying from AIDS.
‘This was even before Covid-19 interrupted vital HIV treatment and prevention services putting countless more lives at risk’.
The Covid-19 crisis is understood to have worsened inequities in access to life-saving HIV services for children, adolescents, and pregnant mothers everywhere.
The report noted that in the months of April and May, coinciding with partial and full lockdowns, paediatric HIV treatment and viral load testing in children in some countries declined between 50 and 70 percent, and new treatment initiation fell by 25 to 50 percent.
Similarly, health facility deliveries and maternal treatment were also reported to have reduced by 20 to 60 percent, maternal HIV testing and ART initiation declined by 25 to 50 percent, and infant testing services declined by approximately 10 percent.
It was also noted that even though the easing of control measures and the strategic targeting of children and pregnant mothers had successfully led to a rebound of services in recent months, challenges still remain, and the world is still far from achieving the global 2020 paediatric HIV targets.
UNICEF, therefore, called on all governments to protect, sustain, and accelerate progress in fighting childhood HIV by maintaining essential health services and strengthening health systems.
Source: UNICEF
Photo source: UNMISS
