By Chioma Umeha
More than four decades
into the HIV epidemic, four in five children living with HIV in West and
Central Africa are still not receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy and
Aids-related deaths among adolescents aged between 15 and 19 are on the rise.
While acknowledging
progress in several areas, the report “Step Up the Pace, Towards an Aids-free
generation in West and Central Africa”, jointly published by United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UNAids shows the region is lagging behind on
nearly every measure of HIV prevention, treatment and care programmes for
children and adolescents.
In 2016, an estimated 60
000 children were newly infected with HIV in West and Central Africa. “It is
tragic that so many children and adolescents today are not receiving the
treatment they need just because they have not been tested,” said Marie-Pierre
Poirier, UNICEF’s West and Central Africa Regional Director.
“We need to make better
use of innovations to increase early diagnosis and improve access to HIV
treatment and care for children. For example, the point-of-care technology
diagnostic brings testing closer to where children attend health services and
self-testing can be a good option for adolescents who may be more comfortable
with it.”
The region’s coverage of
life-saving anti-retroviral therapy among children living with HIV is the
lowest in the world because many countries have limited capacity to perform the
tests needed for early infant diagnosis.
