ABUJA, Dec 8 (AFP) - Governments, aid donors and drug companies have not done enough to help the growing army of African children infected by the HIV/AIDS virus, experts said at the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) on Thursday.
"You can see the adults being treated but the kids still die," said Daniel O'Brien of Doctors without Borders (MSF), noting that mortality rates in young children are very high.
Africa, the world's poorest continent, is home to close on 90 percent of all the infected children in the world. More than half of these children die before the age of two.
Pediatric antiretrovirals remain rare, expensive and in most cases, completely unsuitable for use in Africa.
Most of the pediatric treatments currently on the market come as syrup, some have to be diluted with drinking water, and some require refrigeration.
"All these factors mean that many doctors on the ground feel very uncomfortable about treating children," said Fernando Pascual Martinez, a pharmacist with MSF, adding: "It's very frustrating", a view shared by most African pediatricians attending ICASA.
Pharmaceutical companies are accused of dragging their feet on the issue given that the vast majority of children in need of treatment are in Africa and accordingly this niche market is unlikely to bring in money for the drug companies.
If mother-to-child transmission remains a major problem in Africa, it has been all but eliminated in the developed world.
"There is just not that market pressure I guess to drive pharmaceutical companies to really push for these pediatric drugs to become available," O'Brien went on.
In many cases the only solution currently possible is to use drugs intended for adults and to cut up the tablets.
The results are very encouraging but the exercise can be fraught with hazards: too small a dose can lead to the virus becoming resistant to treatment and too large a dose can be toxic.
But awareness of the problem seems to be on the increase.
"Often, early on, it was thought it was too hard, too difficult and they were going to die quickly anyway so why put all the effort and the resources. Over the past 12 months people have finally started to realize that antiretrovirals can work very well in children," O'Brien explained.
Encouraging results from a few African countries have been announced at ICASA, even if they can appear insignificant given the scale of the pandemic.
In Rwanda, a program set up in 2004 and focusing on training general practitionners has meant 1,800 children are now on ARVs, five times as many as before.
"It is possible to treat children hit by HIV/AIDS, even in countries with limited resources", as long as long as you have "strong political commitment," said Diane Gashumba, a doctor at Kigali's University Hospital.
Going beyond isolated signs of progress in the field, marketing affordable pediatric treatment in tablet form across the continent remains a priority.
"We don't have what we need. And while we can see that what we are using is better than not doing anything, it is certainly not what we want for the future," said Siobhan Crowley from the World Health Organisation.
051208
AF051239
Copyright ©AFP 2005. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission. obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2005. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1990, 2005 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
