Children

The First Ladies of Africa call on governments and communities to ensure that all babies in Africa are born and stay free of HIV.

GENEVA, 26 November 2014—Ahead of World AIDS Day 2014, the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have launched a campaign to stop new HIV infections among children and ensure that their mothers stay healthy. The campaign was launched in association with the African Broadcast Media Partnership.

“Many countries are giving us hope that we can end the AIDS epidemic on the African continent and around the world,” said the First Lady of the Republic of Chad and President of OAFLA, Hinda Deby Itno. “We must continue to intensify our efforts, as too many children in Africa are born with HIV every day. The prosperity of our continent depends on a healthy generation.”

In recent years, country-led movements in sub-Saharan Africa have resulted in a significant decrease in new HIV infections among children. An estimated 210 000 children in sub-Saharan Africa were newly infected with HIV in 2013 compared to 370 000 in 2009, a decline of 43%.

Coverage of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the region reached 68%, up from 56% in 2011. Despite this progress, there is still a need to strengthen community-led HIV responses in order to ensure universal access to life-saving medicines for both mothers and their children, as in 2013 only 22% of children had access to the medicines.

“The First Ladies of Africa have started a powerful movement to ensure that no more babies are born with HIV in Africa,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.” We must fast-track our efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. There is no greater return than investing in the health and development of a nation.”

The First Ladies’ broadcast and social media campaign reinforces the need for strong leadership, shared responsibility and concerted community action to stop new HIV infections among children. The First Ladies’ call for active community involvement, including women living with HIV and their partners, policy-makers and health-care providers, to achieve the targets set out in the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive.

Launched at the 2011 United Nations High-Level Meeting on AIDS, the Global Plan identified 22 priority countries—21 of which are in sub-Saharan Africa—in which to redouble efforts to reduce the number of children born with HIV by 90% by 2015.

The campaign also aims to increase access to antiretroviral therapy for children. As of 2013, Botswana was the only priority country that was providing treatment to more than 80% of children living with HIV, while three other countries reached more than 40% treatment coverage for children under 15 years in 2013.

The campaign will be broadcast over 150 radio stations and more than 100 TV stations across 38 countries in Africa over the next 12 months. It will also be launched on several social media outlets to reach communities beyond the African continent.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners to maximize results for the AIDS response. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

OAFLA

The Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) was established in 2002 as a collective voice for Africa’s most vulnerable people, women and children infected and affected by the HIV pandemic. Since then, OAFLA has transformed itself from a forum of ideas to an institution capable of providing the continent-wide leadership needed to bring about change in peoples’ lives. With its permanent secretariat in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, OAFLA has moved from addressing the symptoms of the HIV crisis to the root causes, poverty and the overall inequality of women in the region. For more information, visit www.oafla.org.

Using innovation to improve the lives of millions of the world’s most disadvantaged children and to bridge the divide between those who have almost everything and those with virtually nothing is explored in UNICEF’s The state of the world’s children, published on 20 November.

Marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the report, promotes an agenda for change in which governments, civil society, businesses, community organizers and a broad range of actors work together to find creative solutions to the most pressing problems children face. It calls for these solutions to cross borders, push boundaries and forge new global networks in an increasingly interconnected world so that inequity and injustice are challenged.

The report notes that such action is urgently needed given that millions of children still face discrimination, physical and sexual abuse and neglect. The poorest 20% are twice as likely to die before their fifth birthday as the richest 20% and almost a quarter of children in the least developed countries are engaged in child labour.

A number of innovations, many by young inventors themselves, are showcased. These range from  the Solar Ear, the world’s first rechargeable hearing aid battery charger, to floating boat schools providing education to children in flood-prone areas, and from a urine-powered electricity generator to a new building material made from unwanted rice waste. Personal stories are also highlighted, such as Josephine, a young woman in Zambia who uses mobile technology to provide her peers with free and confidential counselling on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. 

In addition, the fully digital report, which includes multimedia and interactive components, invites readers to share their own innovations and creativity to help children around the world. 

During a fact-finding mission to South Africa with the Elton John AIDS Foundation, UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador Victoria Beckham expressed her commitment to raising awareness around women and girls’ vulnerability to HIV.

Ms Beckham met with Sheila Tlou, Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa, and was briefed by Ms Tlou about the HIV epidemic in the region and UNAIDS’ support to national AIDS responses. The conversation focused on the various factors driving HIV infection among women, including violence, child marriage, intergenerational sex, human rights violations and traditional practices in eastern and southern Africa. 

Ms Beckham noted that her visits to mothers2mothers project sites and the Ramokgopa Clinic, as well as her close interaction with women and girls in Soweto, helped broaden her understanding of the different challenges affecting communities in South Africa.

Medical and scientific experts participating in the recent international conference Children and HIV: Problems and Prospects, held in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, pledged to eradicate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the Russian Federation by the end of 2015, a first step towards achieving a generation born free of HIV in the country.

More than 400 specialists from across the Russian Federation, health professionals from 18 countries and representatives of international organizations and global research institutes, including UNAIDS, UNICEF, WHO and the Paediatric European Network for Treatment of AIDS, discussed topics such as improving medical care for pregnant women and children, early HIV diagnostics and treatment of coinfections and social support for children living with HIV and their families.

Key recommendations made at the forum to achieve the target of zero new cases of HIV transmitted from mother to child included promoting and implementing modern clinical protocols and standards and strengthening international cooperation to better serve mothers and children.

GENEVA/ROME, 8 May 2014—UNAIDS and the UN World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP) Foundation have released a new book on HIV for children.

The book, The Bravest Boy I Know, is about two friends, Kendi and Kayla. Kendi is living with HIV. The story is set in Africa and beautifully illustrated by celebrated artist Sujean Rim. It is a heart-warming tale of how the two friends deal with HIV in a positive way. The book conveys the important message that by taking medicine children living with HIV can live active and healthy lives while also explaining that the medicines can make children feel unwell and tired.

The Bravest Boy I Know was officially launched in Rome by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Ambassador Dho Young-shim, Chairperson of the UNWTO ST-EP Foundation, Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS and Taleb D. Rifai, Secretary-General of UNWTO. It is dedicated to Mr Ban for his work in prioritizing education through the Global Education First Initiative which aims to put every child in school; improve the quality of learning; and foster global citizenship.

“Stigma and discrimination around HIV very often prevent children and families from accessing essential HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care services,” said Mr Ban. “These books, which will be delivered to schools across Africa through ST-EP’s Small Libraries project, will help everyone understand that young people can live normal and fulfilling lives with HIV."

Since November 2011, the ST-EP Foundation and UNAIDS have partnered to equip all UN MDGs Thank You Small Libraries with a UNAIDS corner so that all children can learn about HIV.

“As the UN MDGs Advocate for Education, I firmly believe in the power of education to accelerate the achievement of all UN MDGs by 2015, and particularly Goal 6—aimed at HIV,” said Ambassador Dho. “This meaningful collaboration with UNAIDS is creating synergies that will have a powerful impact on the education and the health of children.”

In 2012, some 3.3 million children under 15 years old were living with HIV and 650 000 were accessing antiretroviral treatment. Increasing access to simple and effective treatment for children is one of the major challenges in the AIDS response. In 2012, just 34% of children in need had access to the lifesaving treatment.  

“As a father and a grandfather I know that reading to children can be the best way to help them understand complex issues,” said Mr Sidibé, Executive Director, UNAIDS. “We hope that this book will encourage acceptance and openness as well as spark action to address the specific needs of children living with HIV.”

The book is available in English and French with a Portuguese version to follow. It is being released together with a factsheet on children and HIV, a discussion guide for teachers and carers as well as a narrated video of the book.

To view the full package of materials online, please go to http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/campaigns/2014/20140508thebravestboyiknow/

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners to maximize results for the AIDS response. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

UNWTO ST-EP Foundation

The UNWTO ST-EP Foundation is a cornerstone of the ST-EP (Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty) initiative of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) aimed to harness the power of tourism to generate new opportunities for development and empowerment in least developed and developing countries, and particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. UNWTO ST-EP Foundation acts in cooperation with the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, GIZ, SNV, the Netherlands Development Organization, IUCN NL, and the Travel Foundation, etc.

The United States government has recently announced that the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), in partnership with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), is planning to significantly increase the number of children who have access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART) across ten priority African countries over the next two years.

The initiative, known as Accelerating Children’s HIV/AIDS Treatment (ACT) is an ambitious US$ 200 million effort that will help close the treatment gap for children living with HIV. ACT will aim to ensure 300 000 additional children living with HIV have access to treatment and care.

Globally, in 2013, there were 3.2 million children under the age of 15 living with HIV; most live in sub-Saharan Africa and 76% are without access to treatment. Children living with HIV are one third as likely to have access to treatment as adults. Without treatment, half of all children born with HIV will die before their second birthday and most will die before the age of five.

ACT will prioritize the countries with the highest burden of paediatric HIV, the lowest access to paediatric treatment, and the greatest disparity in treatment coverage for children compared to adults living with HIV.