UNAIDS Report 2024: strengthening paediatric HIV treatment

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Extract from the article: The UNAIDS Global AIDS Report 2024 highlights a worrying reality: HIV in children remains a major concern. Although there have been significant advances in the fight against HIV, the report shows that only 35% of children living with HIV are being tr

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The UNAIDS Global AIDS Report 2024 highlights a worrying reality: HIV in children remains a major concern. Although there have been significant advances in the fight against HIV, the report shows that only 35% of children living with HIV are being treated and that more than half of pregnant women living with HIV are not receiving the care they need to prevent transmission.

The report, entitled «Today's emergency - AIDS at the crossroads», states that by 2023, only 35% of children living with HIV were receiving treatment. This alarming figure highlights the inadequacy of current efforts to treat and protect young people against this devastating disease. The region is home to 20% of the world's pregnant women living with HIV, but more than half of them are not receiving antiretroviral treatment, increasing the risk of transmitting the virus to their children.

The UNAIDS report stresses the urgent need to step up efforts to prevent HIV in children and improve access to treatment. Despite the progress made in reducing the number of new infections, teenage girls continue to account for a disproportionate share of new infections, accentuating the need to focus efforts on the younger generation.

UNAIDS Regional Director Berthilde Gahongariye stressed that, although significant progress has been made in access to treatment for adults, the low rate of antiretroviral treatment among children is a source of great concern. «If we scale up prevention, work to eliminate gender inequality and end HIV-related stigma and discrimination, we will be well on our way to ending AIDS by 2030», she said.

The UNAIDS report reminds us all that the fight against HIV in children can no longer be postponed.Progress is possible, but it requires renewed commitment and concrete action. To eradicate HIV, it is essential to pay particular attention to the very young, who are often the most vulnerable and the most neglected.

Jean ELI