'Progress in HIV care for kids, pregnant women nearly flat over past 3 years'

In time for World AIDS Day on December 1 the UNICEF has warned about progress in HIV prevention and treatment The United Nations agency has said that the progress in children adolescents and pregnant women has nearly flatlined over the past three years with many regions still not at preCovid service coverage Around 110000 children and adolescents 019 years died from AIDSrelated causes during 2021 while another 310000 were newly infected bringing the total number of young people living with HIV to 27 million according to the latest UNICEF global snapshot on children and HIVAIDS which was released on MondayThis stagnation comes on top of an existing and growing gap in treatment between children and adultsThough children have long lagged behind adults in the AIDS response the stagnation seen in the last three years is unprecedented putting too many young lives at risk of sickness and death said Anurita Bains UNICEF associate chief of HIVAIDS Children are falling through the cracks because we are collectively failing to find and test them and get them on lifesaving treatment Every day that goes by without progress over 300 children and adolescents lose their fight against AIDS Bains addedDespite accounting for only 7 per cent of overall people living with HIV children and adolescents comprised 17 per cent of all AIDSrelated deaths and 21 per cent of new HIV infections in 2021Unless the drivers of inequities are addressed ending AIDS in children and adolescents will continue to be a distant dream warned UNICEFHowever the snapshot shows that longerterm trends remain positiveNew HIV infections among younger children 014 years dropped by 52 per cent from 2010 to 2021 and new infections among adolescents 1519 years also dropped by 40 per centSimilarly coverage of lifelong antiretroviral treatment ART among pregnant women living with HIV increased from 46 percent to 81 per cent in a single decadeWhile the total number of children living with HIV is on the decline the treatment gap between children and adults continues to growIn UNICEF HIVpriority countries ART coverage for children stood at 56 per cent in 2020 but fell to 54 per cent in 2021 This decline is due to several factors including the Covid19 pandemic and other global crises which have increased marginalisation and poverty but is also a reflection of waning political will and a flagging AIDS response in childrenGlobally an even lower percentage of children living with HIV had access to treatment 52 per cent which has only marginally increased over the past few yearsMeanwhile coverage among all adults living with HIV 76 per cent was more than 20 percentage points higher than among children The gap was even larger between children 52 per cent and pregnant women living with HIV 81 per cent Alarmingly the percentage of children between the ages of 04 years living with HIV and not on ART has been rising over the past seven years climbing to 72 per cent in 2021 as high as it was in 2012 shows the snapshotMany regions AsiaPacific the Caribbean Eastern and Southern Africa Latin America the Middle East and North Africa and West and Central Africa also experienced drops in treatment coverage in pregnant and breastfeeding women during 2020 with AsiaPacific and the Middle East and North Africa seeing further declines in 2021Except for West and Central Africa which continues to see the highest burden of mothertochild transmission none of the aforementioned regions have recovered to the coverage levels achieved in 2019 These disruptions put the lives of newborn babies at increased riskIn 2021 more than 75000 new child infections occurred because pregnant women were not diagnosed and initiated on treatment shows the snapshotAlso Read 38 million people living with HIV in SouthEast Asia region says WHOThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever