Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Toronto (Agenzia Fides) - Two initiatives which obtained good results with children affected by HIV/AIDS in poor countries using Anti Retroviral Treatment ARV were presented by Doctors without Frontiers (MSF) at the 16th World Meeting on AIDS held in Toronto, Canada.
It is estimated that 2.3 million children in the world are infected with the HIV virus, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Nine out of ten children are infected by the HIV virus by their mother because efforts to prevent this transmission are still insufficient.
Only 5% of the 660,000 children who urgently need ARV treatment are able to receive it. Not enough tests can be made on new born babies and there is not enough equipment to treat children in need.
MSF presented the results of treatment of children in poor countries with regard to 13,754 children under 13 treated by MSF in its programmes in 14 countries: 80% were living and continued the therapy after 24 months of treatment with few side effects. Since children’s doses were not available most of the children were given broken adult pills. Without treatment half the babies who contract the HIV virus from their mother die before they reach the age of two.
Diagnosis of the virus and adequate therapy are the main principal challenges. Diagnosis is difficult in situations of poverty because the test for anti bodies used for adults is not accurate in this age group. Treatment is difficult because of the scarcity of ARV in children doses and health workers have to give broken adult pills not meant for partial administration. For babies weighing less than 4 kilos this procedure is not possible and the only option is liquid medicine difficult to measure, bitter to the taste, often to be kept in a refrigerator and very expensive. The majority of HIV+ children live in the poorest countries of the world. (AP) (4/9/2006 Agenzia Fides; Righe:30: Parole:360)
