[afro-nets] 1 Child Dies Because Of AIDS Each Minute, UNICEF Says

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

1 Child Dies Because Of AIDS Each Minute, UNICEF Says
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New York, Oct 24 2005 10:00PM

Each minute of every day a child somewhere in the world dies be-
cause of AIDS, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said
today on the eve of launching a major push to address the plight
of the disease's youngest victims.

"For young people in the most affected countries, where life-
expectancy has plummeted from the mid 60's to the low 30's,
turning 18 can mean reaching middle age," UNICEF chief Ann Vene-
man told a press briefing in New York.

"An estimated 15 million children have lost one or both parents
to AIDS, but only a fraction of the children and parents who
need help are getting it," she added.

Outlining the new initiative, the Chief of UNICEF's HIV/AIDS
Section, Peter McDermott, said it aims to prevent mother-to-
child transmission, provide pediatric treatment, stem new
HIV/AIDS infections, and help orphans affected by the virus.

Specifically the campaign seeks to increase services to women in
need to 80 per cent by 2010 from the 10 per cent currently
served. It also hopes to cut in half the 500,000 children who
die from the virus before the age of 1, out of the 600,000 that
are born positive.

"With simple Co-trimoxazole for about $10 a year, we can improve
their chances of living beyond one year of age by 15 per cent,
and with antiretrovirals, we can improve their life expectancy
after their first birthday," Mr. McDermott said.

Through prevention, the programme hopes to reduce by 25 per cent
the number of children aged 4 to 15 who are infected annually by
the virus. Altogether, the programme hopes to reach 80 per cent
of the children in need in 5 years, he added.

But he warned that there remains a "massive funding gap" between
what has been committed to fight the virus among children. and
what is needed.

Also addressing the press briefing was 20-year old Kerrel McKay
of Jamaica, who lost her father to AIDS five years ago. When he
was sick, she was his primary care-taker. "Children will be
given a mor support to go on with their lives," she said of the
initiative. "Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS" will be
kicked off on Tuesday at UN Headquarters where Ms. Venemen will
be joined by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the First Lady of
Rwanda, Jeanette Kagame and the Executive Director of the Joint
UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Dr. Peter Piot.