Toronto, ON- Only one child in 20 who needs HIV treatment receives it, according to a report launched today by seven of the world's leading child advocacy organizations. The Global Movement for Children issued an urgent appeal for the international community to recognize that children with HIV and AIDS have a right to treatment that must be addressed to save their lives and beat the epidemic.

Saving Lives: Children's right to HIV/AIDS treatment , the Global Movement for Children report, reveals that despite an urgent need for paediatric treatment, alarmingly few drugs are available in formulations that are affordable and able to be administered to children while the development of new drugs continues to focus mainly on adults.

As of June 2005, an estimated four million children were in need of Cotrimoxazole, a readily available antibiotic costing only $.03 per day per child.  Cotrimoxazole prevents life-threatening infections in HIV- positive children, and infants born to HIV-positive mothers. It can also delay the onset of AIDS and the need for anti-retroviral therapy.

While it is true that the majority of people living with HIV are adults, HIV-positive children represent a disproportionate number of those needing immediate treatment. More than 90 per cent of children with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa; these children also have the least access to any treatment. But in the current profit-driven climate of drug development, they offer little financial incentive to the pharmaceutical industry, the report states. As a result, despite an urgent need for paediatric formulations of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in developing countries, child-appropriate treatment is practically non-existent. 

The GMC report calls for specific steps, including:

While ensuring that all HIV-positive children have access to treatment will save lives, prevention of infection is crucial. According to the report, 90 per cent of HIV-positive children are infected by a failure to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) in the first place.  The report cites evidence showing that providing a mother with a full range of PMTCT services can reduce the risk of transmission to less than two per cent.  Currently, less than ten per cent of HIV-positive women receive drug therapies to prevent transmission of the virus to their infants.

Significant progress has been made in treating HIV and AIDS since the virus was first identified 25 years ago, but along the way children have been overlooked. Children affected by HIV and AIDS have a right to equal access to treatment and care; without any significant increases in funding these rights will not be met.

The Global Movement for Children is the world-wide movement of organizations and people-including children-uniting efforts to build a world fit for all children.

Comments from the Canadian members of GMC:
"This report underscores the need for children to have a strong voice at this summer's International AIDS Conference.  The Canadian government must work with NGOs and international leaders to ensure children are prioritized when funding and the right to treatment are being discussed," said Dave Toycen, president and CEO of World Vision Canada.

"HIV/AIDS is reversing decades of progress in child survival and development in some regions," said Nigel Fisher, president and CEO, UNICEF Canada. "Canada must show global leadership on this issue. It would be marvelous if Canada, like Ireland, would commit 20 per cent of its AIDS funding to programmes for children. Children are currently the missing face of AIDS, and yet addressing the impact of AIDS on children is the only way to realistically subdue the pandemic."
 
"This report provides the solid research needed to inform Canadians that HIV/AIDS is no longer an adult disease. We are failing children. Children are now bearing the brunt as orphans, heads of households, and as infected individuals.  A significant shift in funding strategies is required," states Rita S. Karakas, CEO of Save the Children Canada.

"As host of this year's International AIDS Conference, Canada should take the lead in adopting the steps outlined in this report," said Robert Fox, executive director of Oxfam Canada. "We must increase aid to strengthen health systems in poor countries, so that every child has access to prevention measures, treatment and care."

"Fair access to HIV and AIDS treatment must be recognized as a basic human right, especially for children," said Rosemary McCarney, president and CEO of Foster Parents Plan (part of the international organization Plan). "Protecting the rights of children is fundamental to overcoming the global impact of AIDS and controlling the spread of HIV."

Click here to download Saving Lives: Children's Right to HIV/AIDS Treatment.

World Vision is a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization working in more than 90 countries, providing help to some 85 million people annually.