Priority actions
1. Mobilize resources
Global funding for AIDS was an estimated $6.1 billion in 2004. Thus, the means exist, both financial and technical, to protect children from the spread of HIV/AIDS and to ensure that no more children, adolescents or young people are infected, affected, orphaned or denied their rights by the pandemic.
But we must act decisively. Every minute we delay is a minute during which more young people will become infected and more children will die of AIDS-related illness.
UNAIDS estimates that more than $55 billion will be needed over the next three years, $22 billion in 2008 alone, to make progress towards Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6. UNAIDS notes that while recalculations will be necessary on an ongoing basis, there is currently a huge funding gap in the available global resources. This is especially true for children; currently, only a small proportion of those in need of treatment and those in need of care and support are receiving it.
At the Millennium Summit in 2000, world leaders called for greater global commitments to deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries. Debt relief for these countries will free up resources that should be used for development purposes, including the fight for children infected and affected by AIDS. The Campaign will provide a platform for the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF, nongovernmental organizations and others to intensify their advocacy around the urgent necessity of reaching these children within national poverty reduction and HIV/AIDS strategies.
2. Foster corporate social responsibility
Private and multinational companies are an untapped source for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, including the goal for HIV/AIDS. Many companies employing staff in countries with high HIV prevalence have programmes in place for their employees and their families. But the greatest role for the corporate sector in the fight to protect children against the impact of AIDS goes beyond their internal policies and practices to their fuller relationship with the community.
There are multiple avenues open to companies that might want to partner in the UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign. They can strengthen communities and support families by sponsoring educational HIV prevention and support programmes; they can invest in research and development for treatments, buy local products and develop local talent. They can lend their voices and sponsorship to media campaigns that inform children about how best to protect themselves from HIV. Companies can also contribute to improving distribution systems in countries by applying their expertise in forecasting, inventory planning and stock replenishments, as well as logistics.
In short, they can approach the issues of children and young people affected by HIV/AIDS as their own concerns, supporting efforts to prevent the transmission of the virus and efforts to care for and support children living with the disease.
The UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign will support ongoing efforts by UNAIDS, the International Labour Organization, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS and others, by highlighting positive examples of corporate social responsibility and by offering guidance to companies that want to improve their support for children and families infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
3. Come as close as possible to universal access to treatment
The UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign will provide a platform for continued and intensified advocacy for increased pharmaceutical research and development of better and cheaper diagnostics and pediatric formulations for HIV-positive children by governments, academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies from both industrialized and developing countries.
The Campaign will support affected countries in accessing appropriate and affordable medicines, especially formulations and diagnostics adapted to the special needs of children. World leaders at the 2005 G-8 Summit and the 2005 World Summit committed themselves to developing and implementing a package for HIV prevention, treatment and care with the aim of coming as close as possible to the goal of universal access to treatment by 2010. The UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign provides a means of supporting this global effort.
4. Strengthen education and health services
User fees for primary education and health-care services represent major obstacles in the international efforts to protect, support and care for the millions of children threatened by HIV/AIDS.
The UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign will advocate for education and health services to be strengthened, and for governments and agencies to work towards the elimination of user fees for primary education and, where appropriate, health-care services. This has the potential to enable millions of vulnerable and at-risk children to attend school, benefit from a safe environment and obtain information that could protect them from HIV/AIDS and its impact.
The Campaign will also generate resources and mobilize technical assistance in support of innovative approaches to remove or reduce the associated costs of primary schooling, such as uniforms and books, and in support of those interventions, such as providing school meals, that will increase attendance and completion rates and the overall health of children.
The Campaign will also support efforts to preserve and expand the capacity of health services to provide treatment, prevention measures and health care to the increasing numbers of children and adults infected with HIV and vulnerable to opportunistic infections.
5. Put the care and protection of children first
There are specific and overarching frameworks for the care and protection of children affected by HIV/AIDS that guide the UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign.
Serving as a reference point, the Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS sets the standards for the care and protection of children affected by the disease. An ‘effort index’ is being developed to monitor government commitment to the Framework; and the annual Global Partners Forum, along with other forums within the context of the ‘Three Ones’ (One action framework as the basis for coordinating the work of all partners; One national coordinating authority, with a broad based, multi-sectoral mandate; and One country-level monitoring and evaluation system) will provide the means to monitor and report on progress in this area.
The overarching approach to the care and protection of children – whether they are affected by HIV/AIDS or not – is the full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols. If all articles in the Convention were incorporated into national law and implemented, there would be less need for specific measures to protect children affected or infected with HIV. Thus, the UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign will provide a platform for continued action and advocacy to promote the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international conventions.
