Nearly 160,000 Children Were HIV-Infected In 2021
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that in 2021, approximately 160,000 children were infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
According to WHO, globally, a child dies from AIDS-related causes every five minutes.
A press statement by the global health body explained that plans have been laid by 12 African countries committing themselves to end AIDS in children by 2030.
The statement stated, “Currently, around the world, a child dies from AIDS-related causes every five minutes.”
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It explained that only half (52 percent) of children living with HIV are on life-saving treatment, far behind adults of whom three-quarters (76 percent) are receiving antiretrovirals.
The statement lamented that children accounted for 15 percent of all AIDS-related deaths, despite the fact that only four percent of the total number of people living with HIV are children.
It said that Nigeria, Angola, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, as the 12 countries with high HIV burdens and have joined the alliance to ensure that the 2030 target is met.
According to Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO assured that the organisation is committed to leaving no stone unturned towards ensuring that children in need of HIV treatment are not left behind in curbing the disease among children.
The Director General stated that ever since the emergence of AIDs over 40 years ago, WHO has come a long way in preventing infections among children and increasing access to treatment, saying that progress has stalled.
