An estimated 2.3 million children under the age of 15 are currently infected with HIV and over 15 million have been orphaned due to the loss of one or both parents from AIDS. In October of 2005, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) launched the "Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS" campaign in an effort to improve the health, education, and overall welfare of the millions of children who have been impacted by the disease. One year later, UNICEF reports noteworthy progress but also insists that current efforts remain tragically insufficient.
New HIV Cases in Children Under 15 in 2004
Source: UNICEF, 2005. Children: The missing face of AIDS
Mother-to-Child Transmission
Over 90 percent of new HIV infections in children under 15 are a result of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). Without treatment, 35 percent of HIV-positive women will infect their babies during pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. In high-income countries, MTCT has been virtually eliminated through a combination of testing and counseling, antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, safe delivery practices, and widespread use of breast-milk alternatives. In middle- and low-income, however, where 95 percent of the world's HIV-infected women reside, only one in 10 mothers receive the ARV treatment that can reduce the risk of transmission by 50 percent.
Percent (%) of People on ARV Therapy Among Those in Need, 2005
Source: World Health Organization
Impacts on Children
Even children who are not HIV positive may be indirectly impacted by the disease, particularly in the worst affected regions of the world such as sub-Saharan Africa. Families coping with an HIV-infected parent are burdened by large medical bills, lost wages, and discrimination, often forcing children to drop out of school to take care of the sick or earn additional income. Community support systems are also eroded when teachers and health care workers die from AIDS. In Zimbabwe, for example, one study found that 29 percent of female teachers were HIV positive.
Impact of AIDS on Under-5 Mortality in Select Countries, 2004
Source: UNICEF, 2005. Children: The missing face of AIDS
Promising Breakthroughs
UNICEF's recent report, Children and AIDS: A Stocktaking, highlights numerous signs of progress throughout the world. In 2006, an estimated 9 percent of pregnant women with HIV in low- and middle- income counties were receiving ARV treatment to prevent MTCT, up from 3 percent in 2003. In certain countries, the progress was even more remarkable--Namibia saw an increase from 6 to 29 percent between 2004 and 2005.
Percent (%) of Mothers Receiving Treatment to Prevent MTCT in Select Countries
Source: UNICEF, 2006. Children and AIDS: A Stocktaking
The treatment of children living with HIV/AIDS has also improved, although currently only 1 in 10 children receive the ARVs they need. The Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative negotiated the price of pediatric ARVs to less than $60 per year, which should spur competition to develop improved formulations for pediatric ARVs.
Goals for the Future
The report sets goals in four areas, known as the "Four Ps," to be achieved by 2010:
- Prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV: offer appropriate service to 80 percent of women in need.
- Provide pediatric treatment: offer treatment for 80 percent of children in need.
- Prevent infection among adolescents and young people: reduce the number of HIV-infected young people by 25 percent.
- Protect and support children affected by HIV/AIDS: reach 80 percent of children most in need.
RELATED LINKS:
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
World Health Organization (WHO) HIV/AIDS Programme
UNAIDS 2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic
EarthTrends
EarthTrends Post on UNAIDS 2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic
A Generation of Orphans: Another Challenge for AIDS-Ravaged Countries
