UNICEF reports that over 47 children and adolescents lost their lives daily in 2018 due to AIDS-related causes. The report also revealed that low access to antiretroviral treatment and limited prevention efforts are the leading causes for these deaths, with only 54 per cent of children aged 0-14 living with HIV globally in 2018 – or 790,000 children – receiving lifesaving antiretroviral therapy.
According to the latest global data, regional disparities in access to treatment among children living with HIV is very high – with West and Central Africa faring worst.
Access is highest in South Asia, at 91 per cent, followed by the Middle East and North Africa (73 per cent), Eastern and Southern Africa (61 per cent), East Asia and the Pacific (61 per cent), Latin America and the Caribbean (46 per cent) and West and Central Africa (28 per cent) based on the same report. In Nigeria, access to treatment is pegged at 35%.
The UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, Peter Hawkins shared that although progress had been made in the battle against HIV and AIDS, more still needed to be done. Read his statement below
“It is good news that more and more pregnant women are receiving antiretroviral treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, which has helped avert about 2 million new HIV infections and prevented the deaths of over 1 million children under five years old around the word,” said Peter Hawkins.
“But we need to see the same kind of progress in ensuring that children who already have the virus are receiving lifesaving treatment. HIV programmes need to be fully funded and equipped to preserve, protect and improve the quality of life for Nigerian children. We cannot and must not abandon these children,” said Hawkins.
Other relevant data in the report are as below
- In 2018, around 160,000 children aged 0-9 were newly infected with HIV, bringing the total number of children in this age group living with HIV to 1.1 million.
- 89,000 children under the age of five were infected during pregnancy or birth and 76,000 were infected during breastfeeding in 2018
- 140,000 adolescent girls were newly infected with HIV in 2018, compared to 50,000 adolescent boys.