According to the World Health Organisation 160,000 children contracted the Human Immunodeficiency Virus in 2021, the WHO added that an AIDS-related death in a kid occurs globally every five minutes.
The global health body in a press statement made available to journalists on Wednesday said that Ministers and representatives from twelve African countries have committed themselves, and laid out their plans, to end AIDS in children by 2030.
The statement read partly: “Currently, around the world, a child dies from AIDS-related causes every five minutes.
“Only half (52 per cent) of children living with HIV are on life-saving treatment, far behind adults of whom three quarters (76 per cent) are receiving antiretrovirals. In 2021, 160,000 children newly acquired HIV.
Children accounted for 15 per cent of all AIDS-related deaths, despite the fact that only four per cent of the total number of people living with HIV are children.”
The Director-General of the WHO, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said the organisation is committed to leaving no children in need of HIV treatment behind.
Dr Ghebreyesus said “More than 40 years since AIDS first emerged, we have come a long way in preventing infections among children and increasing access to treatment, but progress has stalled.
“The Global Alliance to End AIDS in Children is a much-needed initiative to reinvigorate progress. WHO is committed to supporting countries with the technical leadership and policy implementation to realise our shared vision of ending AIDS in children by 2030.”
