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www.fdanews.com/articles/89949-un-releases-report-on-children-and-hiv-aids

UN RELEASES REPORT ON CHILDREN AND HIV/AIDS

January 17, 2007

In a report titled "Children and AIDS: A Stocktaking," the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) stressed that further action needs to be taken to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission and to treat children with HIV.

An estimated 530,000 children under 15 were infected with HIV in 2006, mainly through mother-to-child transmission, according to the agency.

The report shows signs of considerable progress in preventing mother-to-child transmission in some African countries. In Namibia the percentage of HIV-infected pregnant women who received antiretrovirals (ARVs) to prevent transmission increased from 6 percent in 2004 to 29 percent in 2005. In South Africa the percentage increased from 22 percent in 2004 to 30 percent in 2005.

The report also notes progress in treating children living with HIV/AIDS. Several countries, including Botswana, Rwanda and South Africa, have been able to scale up HIV treatment of children by integrating it into adult treatment.

Prices of pediatric ARV drugs have decreased dramatically over the past year, according to UNICEF. The Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative negotiated a reduction in the cost of pediatric ARVs to less than $0.16 per day, or $60 per year, helping to spur competition in the development of pediatric formulations.