Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New Vision (Kampala) - December 2, 2007
Conan Businge
Joy is one of the 50,000 or so children under 14 years who are living with HIV/AIDS. In Africa, studies show that without proper treatment, one in three newborns infected with HIV, dies before the age of one, over half die before reaching their second birthday and most are dead before they are five years old.
William Salmond, the director of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, says every child has a right to be protected from HIV infection and to be cared for, if they get infected.
"Drugs to minimise mother-to-child HIV transmission are available, but these often do not reach where they are most needed," says Francis Kanku, Save the Children's Kasese district manager.
Challenges
Every month, Joy and her mother have go back to hospital, 10 miles away from their home, to get more drugs, which is costly for them. Luckily, Save the Children meets their transport costs and offers them food. The organisation supports 24,530 children countrywide.
Most of the ARVs are formulated for adults and not children and some children find it hard to carry them to school. But taking the drugs is not the only challenge. The children also face side effects of ARVs like rashes, wounds and swelling of some body parts.
Warren Tukwasibwe, Save the Children's HIV/AID advisor for the western region, says: "If the infected children are neglected, we are likely to lose the battle against HIV/AIDS."
Joshua Lubandi, the communications officer of the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect., called for more research on ARVs, saying "the current ARVs are not child-friendly."
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