UNAIDS, UNICEF and WHO urge countries in western and central Africa to step up the pace in the response to HIV for children and adolescents

At a high-level meeting in Dakar, Senegal, UNAIDS, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries in western and central Africa to do more to stop new HIV infections among children and adolescents and increase HIV testing and treatment coverage.

In 2017, around 67 000 children (aged 0–9 years) and 69 000 adolescents (aged 10–19 years) became newly infected with HIV. Two thirds (46 000) of adolescents newly infected with the virus were girls. While progress has been seen in stopping new HIV infections among children in some countries—eleven countries registered a reduction of more than 35% between 2010 and 2017—others, including Nigeria, which has the largest epidemic in the region, experienced no declines at all.

“Countries in western and central Africa have a real opportunity to create a positive change for children and young people,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Underlying issues including a lack of domestic investment, fragile health systems, user fees, gender inequality and widespread stigma and discrimination must urgently be addressed to remove barriers and save lives.”

In western and central Africa, close to 800 000 children and adolescents aged between 0 and 19 years were living with HIV in 2017—the second highest number in the world after eastern and southern Africa.

“The majority of children living with HIV in this region are not receiving care and treatment because they do not know they have HIV as they have not been tested,” said Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “We can reverse that trend by focusing on a family-centered approach to HIV testing and treatment and by rolling out innovative point-of-care technologies that bring testing closer to the primary health facilities and the communities where children live.”

We should not lose anymore of Africa’s future to AIDS,” said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Effectively tackling HIV in children and adolescents needs strong and quality health services. By committing to universal health coverage, countries can fast-track progress towards an AIDS-free generation in western and central Africa.”

As part of concerted efforts to step up progress in the region, UNAIDS, UNICEF and WHO called a High-Level Meeting on the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Universal Health Coverage of Paediatric HIV Testing and Treatment in West and Central Africa to unpack the challenges, share best practices and innovative approaches to address the persisting bottlenecks, agree on corrective actions and ensure commitment to action from countries and partners.

Original source: UNAIDS
Published on 16 January 2019