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More about early infant diagnosis
Children under the age of one are not getting diagnosed and are missing out on treatment. As a result, large numbers of very young children are dying every year because of AIDS.
Globally, there are currently 2 million children living with HIV. The number of HIV-positive children benefiting from HIV treatment programmes increased from 75,000 in 2005 to nearly 200,000 in 2007.
One third of children living with HIV who are without access to antiretroviral treatment die by age one, and half by age two
The critical group of youngest children – newborns, are not being tested and treated early enough and are dying of AIDS-related illnesses – something that can be easily avoided with early diagnosis and treatment. Mortality levels are reduced by up to 75 per cent when infants are tested early and treated within the first 12 weeks of life. In 2007, however, only 8 per cent of children born to HIV-positive women were tested before they were two months old. The average for children with HIV begin antiretroviral treatment is between five and nine years old, in many cases too late to have optimal benefit.
Children and AIDS: 3rd Stocktaking Report 2008
Scale up of HIV-related prevention, diagnosis, care and treatment for infants and children: A Programming Framework, June 2008 [English PDF] [Français PDF]
Early Infant Diagnosis Brochure [English PDF] [Français PDF] [Español PDF]
4 November 2008: UNICEF’s Shantha Bloemen reports on how early diagnosis of infants in Malawi is helping to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS.
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Born HIV positive: Early diagnosis and treatment of HIV in infants
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