Barriers to child testing and treatment

Barriers to child testing and treatment

Unless barriers to HIV testing and treatment are addressed children will continue to die in their hundreds of thousands each year. The unavailability of paediatric HIV drugs means effective treatment for children is often elusive. Furthermore, stigma and discrimination directed towards people living with HIV are lead to low levels of testing, and can contribute to poor adherence to ART where it is available.

Problems with testing

In 2009, only 6 percent of children born to women living with HIV were tested within two months of birth in low- and middle-income countries.⁴⁹

A number of factors may prevent children from being tested. Health authorities’ lack of technical ability, poor systems for laboratory analysis, problems with transportation of specimens and results, and little confidence in caring for children are all significant factors.⁵⁰

Furthermore, parents may be unwilling to take their child for an HIV test for fear that the child will face prejudice once diagnosed. A lack of knowledge about testing and the fact HIV can be effectively treated could also lead to poor testing rates. Mothers who have not yet been tested may too be fearful of discovering their child is infected as this would likely mean they are infected also. Hospitals or clinics that provide testing may not be accessible and will lose contact with HIV-exposed children for follow-up tests. A mother may have to travel long distances to reach the nearest health service that can test her child, and this may be impractical and expensiv