UNICEF says three years of flatlined progress on HIV treatment, prevention affect 2.7 million youth
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced on Friday that 110,000 youths under the age of 19 perished last year due to AIDS-related reasons, leading to a total of 2.7 million young individuals living with HIV when considering the 310,000 newly infected.
2.7 million youths are impacted by three years of stagnant progress in HIV prevention and care.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced on Friday that 110,000 youths under 19 lost their lives last year as a result of AIDS-related issues, which raises the total number of young individuals living with HIV to 2.7 million when factoring in the 310,000 newly diagnosed.
In anticipation of World AIDS Day on Thursday, UNICEF issued a caution in its latest global overview concerning children, HIV, and AIDS, stating that progress in HIV prevention and treatment has almost stagnated over the last three years, and many areas continue to lack service coverage comparable to that of the pre-pandemic period.
“Although children have consistently lagged behind adults in the battle against AIDS, the stagnation observed in the last three years is unprecedented, jeopardizing far too many young lives with the threats of illness and death,” remarked UNICEF’s Associate Chief of HIV/AIDS, Anurita Bains.
This is in addition to an existing and widening disparity in treatment accessibility between adults and children, adolescents, and expectant mothers.
“Children are slipping through the gaps as we collectively fail to identify and test them and ensure they receive life-saving treatment,” she added.
“Every day that passes without advancements, over 300 children and teenagers succumb to AIDS.”
Children and adolescents represented merely 7% of all HIV-positive individuals, yet they accounted for 17% of AIDS-related fatalities and 21% of new HIV cases in 2016.
Ending AIDS in children and adolescents will remain an elusive target unless the root causes of inequities are tackled, warns UNICEF.
Long-term trends remain encouraging, the snapshot indicates
From 2010 to 2021, the amount of new HIV infections among children under 14 dropped by 52%, and those among individuals aged 15 to 19 decreased by 40%.
Similarly, the share of pregnant women living with HIV who received lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) increased from 46% to 81% over just ten years.
While there are fewer children living with HIV overall, a growing treatment disparity between minors and adults is evident.
Children’s ART coverage in UNICEF’s HIV-priority nations was 56% in 2020 but fell to 54% in 2021.
The pandemic and other global challenges that have exacerbated poverty and marginalization were among the contributory factors for the decline.
However, this failure also stems from diminishing political will and a lagging response to child AIDS.
Only 52% of children living with HIV worldwide had access to treatment, a figure that has scarcely increased in recent years.
In contrast, the coverage rate among all adults with HIV was 76%, which is over 20 percentage points higher than that of children.
Moreover, there was an 81 percent gap between HIV-positive pregnant women and children.
Additionally, the percentage of children with HIV under age four who are not receiving ART rose to 72% last year, matching the level seen in 2012.
In 2020, treatment coverage declined for expectant and nursing mothers in Asia and the Pacific, the Caribbean, Eastern and Southern Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, and West and Central Africa.
Moreover, coverage in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Asia and the Pacific, continued to dip in 2021.
None of the aforementioned regions have returned to 2019 recovery levels, heightening the risks to the lives of newborns, with the exception of West and Central Africa, which continues to bear the highest burden of mother-to-child transmission.
Due to the failure to diagnose and initiate treatment for expectant mothers in 2021, over 75,000 new pediatric infections occurred.
“With renewed political commitment to reaching the most vulnerable, strategic partnerships, and resources to enhance programs, we can eliminate AIDS in children, adolescents, and pregnant women,” Ms. Bains declared.
