Children and HIV/AIDS

© Francesco Zizola / Noor

“Our results in treating children are very good, but it’s an uphill battle. With better diagnostic tools, treatments that kids will swallow and that their bodies will respond to, many more young children could lead relatively normal lives.” Dr. Rachel Thomas, MSF, Kibera, Kenya

Too many children with HIV/AIDS still waiting

There are an estimated 2.1 million children living with HIV/AIDS, 90% of whom are from sub-Saharan Africa. Only 10% receive any treatment for the disease.

The vast majority of these children become infected with HIV through transmission from the mother during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. It is therefore imperative to continue to work towards the prevention of this transmission, something that has almost been fully achieved in industrialised countries.

But recognising the importance of prevention programmes must not mean ignoring the treatment needs of the more than two million children currently living with HIV/AIDS. In Sub-Saharan Africa, without treatment, a third of the children with HIV will have died before their first birthday, and a half of them will die before their second birthday.