UNAIDS calls on countries to accelerate efforts and close service gaps to end the AIDS epidemic among children and adolescents

A new report released at the 10th IAS Conference on HIV Science in Mexico City, Mexico, shows that the world is lagging behind in its commitment to end the AIDS epidemic among children and adolescents.

The report, Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free, shows that the pace of progress in reducing new HIV infections among children and expanding access to treatment for children, adolescents and pregnant women living with HIV has slowed significantly and that global targets set for 2018 have been missed, despite important gains being made in some countries.

Globally, around 160 000 children aged 0–14 years became newly infected with HIV in 2018. This is a major decrease from 240 000 new infections in 2010. However, the bold and important target set for 2018 was fewer than 40 000 new infections.

“The failure to reach the 2018 targets to reduce new HIV infections among children and adolescents and to widen access to life-saving treatment is both disappointing and frustrating,” said Gunilla Carlsson, UNAIDS Executive Director, a.i. “We need to act quickly to turn this situation around and honour the commitment to end the AIDS epidemic for the next generation.”

Around 82% of pregnant women living with HIV now have access to antiretroviral medicines. There has been considerable progress among countries in eastern and southern Africa, with more than 90% of pregnant women accessing antiretroviral medicines in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe and 95% or higher in Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia. This has resulted in a 41% reduction in new HIV infections among children, with remarkable reductions achieved in Botswana (85%), Rwanda (83%), Malawi (76%), Namibia (71%), Zimbabwe (69%) and Uganda (65%) since 2010. The progress made by these countries shows what can be achieved through strong political leadership, rapid policy adoption and concerted efforts by all stakeholders.

The report throws light on where gaps need to be filled to prevent new HIV infections occurring among children. For example, in eastern Africa, 10 000 of 26 000 new HIV infections among children in 2018 were the result of women not being retained on treatment throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding. In southern Africa, 17 000 of 53 000 new infections among children were the result of the mother becoming infected with HIV during pregnancy or breastfeeding. A total of 16 000 new infections could have been averted in southern Africa by retaining mothers on treatment throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding. In western and central Africa, almost 27 000 of the 44 000 new infections could have been averted if their mothers had accessed antiretroviral medicines.

“These new data show that many countries have made important progress toward reaching the 2020 targets, and yet others are lagging significantly behind,” said Deborah Birx, United States Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy. “These stark disparities highlight the critical role of political commitment, rapid policy implementation and data-driven investments in accelerating impact.”

UNAIDS and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief launched the Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS-Free framework in 2016 to build on the achievements of the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive, which ended in 2014.

Read and download the report: Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS-Free.

Original source: UNAIDS
Published on 22 July 2019