47,000 children living with HIV need treatment
Oct 14, 2007
FIFTY percent of the children living with HIV get the infection from their mothers. William Salmond, the country director of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, revealed this during the pediatric HIV/AIDS advocacy meeting at Hotel Africana recently.
By Juliet Waiswa
FIFTY percent of the children living with HIV get the infection from their mothers. William Salmond, the country director of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, revealed this during the pediatric HIV/AIDS advocacy meeting at Hotel Africana recently.
“Although the Ministry of Health (MOH) has been advocating for prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission, many mothers are still passing on the virus to their children,†Salmond said.
More than 50,000 children living with HIV are in immediate need of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). At the moment, less than one in five children who need ART are receiving it, according to a MOH report.
Salmond said due to the increase of infection in children, the MOH has started Polymerase Chain Reaction tests for infants exposed to HIV.
This means at six weeks, children who are found to have HIV will receive prophlaxis (preventive treatment) until HIV infection is excluded. “There will be a requirement that every mother who goes to the hospital with her child at six weeks gets tested for HIV and gets treatment,†he said.
Mother-To-Child-Treatment (MTCT) is one of the major challenges that the country is still facing due to failure of pregnant mothers accessing nevirapine (a drug that protects the unborn child from contracting the virus).
With limited HIV/AIDS centres for children, many are dying because their parents are not giving them care, support and treatment.
The United States Ambassador to Uganda, Steven Browning, said Uganda is still faced with challenges of MTCT. Annabella’s testimony during the meeting was one of the many touching stories of children living with HIV/AIDS.
When the 11-year-old girl lost her parents, she decided to test for HIV. Unfortunately, she was infected. She reportedly got the virus from her mother through breast-feeding.
She is among the approximately 110,000 children living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda, with an estimated 25,000 additional infants born each year with HIV due to transmission from their mothers.
Children born with HIV usually get it at birth and during breast-feeding. Children who are not identified early enough face dire circumstances. Thirty die by the age of one and 50% before reaching their second birthday.
“It is estimated that there are over 100,000 children living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda; 47, 000 children are in need of treatment and only 8,000 of them are on ART,†Browning said.
Browning added that an estimated 25,000 infants are born each year with HIV due to mtct. Uganda urgently needs to improve its pediatric HIV/AIDS programmes and to develop comprehensive programmes to support adolescents with HIV.
He said Uganda needs more accredited ART centres that can provide comprehensive paediatric care (only 30 out of the total 200 health sites approved by the Ministry of Health now do so).
More rural care facilities are also needed. Browning added: “We doubled our investment in these programmes from $3.5m in 2006 to $7m in 2007, and we will see our support increase to over $8m in 2008.â€
Dr. Philippa Musoke, the chairperson of the National Pediatric ART sub-committee, revealed that the Paediatric Infectious Disease Clinic in collaboration with stakeholders advocates for strengthening the technical knowledge and skills of all categories of healthcare workers in the identification, treatment care and support of HIV infected children and adolescents.
She called for integration of pediatric HIV testing, care, and treatment in all health care programmes including PMTCT, postnatal care, under-5 clinics, nutrition rehabilitation units, in patients facilities, orphans and vulnerable children centres.
The director general, Uganda AIDS Commission, Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, said there is need to scale up prevention-of-mother to-child-transmission and care and support for the orphans and vulnerable children.
Health workers need to be sensitised about the need for paediatric testing, care and treatment services.
FIFTY percent of the children living with HIV get the infection from their mothers. William Salmond, the country director of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, revealed this during the pediatric HIV/AIDS advocacy meeting at Hotel Africana recently.
“Although the Ministry of Health (MOH) has been advocating for prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission, many mothers are still passing on the virus to their children,†Salmond said.
More than 50,000 children living with HIV are in immediate need of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). At the moment, less than one in five children who need ART are receiving it, according to a MOH report.
Salmond said due to the increase of infection in children, the MOH has started Polymerase Chain Reaction tests for infants exposed to HIV.
This means at six weeks, children who are found to have HIV will receive prophlaxis (preventive treatment) until HIV infection is excluded. “There will be a requirement that every mother who goes to the hospital with her child at six weeks gets tested for HIV and gets treatment,†he said.
Mother-To-Child-Treatment (MTCT) is one of the major challenges that the country is still facing due to failure of pregnant mothers accessing nevirapine (a drug that protects the unborn child from contracting the virus).
With limited HIV/AIDS centres for children, many are dying because their parents are not giving them care, support and treatment.
The United States Ambassador to Uganda, Steven Browning, said Uganda is still faced with challenges of MTCT. Annabella’s testimony during the meeting was one of the many touching stories of children living with HIV/AIDS.
When the 11-year-old girl lost her parents, she decided to test for HIV. Unfortunately, she was infected. She reportedly got the virus from her mother through breast-feeding.
She is among the approximately 110,000 children living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda, with an estimated 25,000 additional infants born each year with HIV due to transmission from their mothers.
Children born with HIV usually get it at birth and during breast-feeding. Children who are not identified early enough face dire circumstances. Thirty die by the age of one and 50% before reaching their second birthday.
“It is estimated that there are over 100,000 children living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda; 47, 000 children are in need of treatment and only 8,000 of them are on ART,†Browning said.
Browning added that an estimated 25,000 infants are born each year with HIV due to mtct. Uganda urgently needs to improve its pediatric HIV/AIDS programmes and to develop comprehensive programmes to support adolescents with HIV.
He said Uganda needs more accredited ART centres that can provide comprehensive paediatric care (only 30 out of the total 200 health sites approved by the Ministry of Health now do so).
More rural care facilities are also needed. Browning added: “We doubled our investment in these programmes from $3.5m in 2006 to $7m in 2007, and we will see our support increase to over $8m in 2008.â€
Dr. Philippa Musoke, the chairperson of the National Pediatric ART sub-committee, revealed that the Paediatric Infectious Disease Clinic in collaboration with stakeholders advocates for strengthening the technical knowledge and skills of all categories of healthcare workers in the identification, treatment care and support of HIV infected children and adolescents.
She called for integration of pediatric HIV testing, care, and treatment in all health care programmes including PMTCT, postnatal care, under-5 clinics, nutrition rehabilitation units, in patients facilities, orphans and vulnerable children centres.
The director general, Uganda AIDS Commission, Dr. Kihumuro Apuuli, said there is need to scale up prevention-of-mother to-child-transmission and care and support for the orphans and vulnerable children.
Health workers need to be sensitised about the need for paediatric testing, care and treatment services.