Unicef Found That One Child With Hiv Was Infected Every 2 Minutes In 2020.

UNICEF found that one child with HIV was infected every 2 minutes in 2020.

New York, Nov 30, : Despite the world struggling to deal with the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, one child was infected with HIV every 2 minutes, bringing the total number of HIV-infected children to at least 300,000.This is according to UNICEF’s Tuesday report.
The HIV and AIDS Global Snapshot revealed that one child died every five minutes from AIDS-related causes, which is 120,000 children in the last year.

 Unicef Found That One Child With Hiv Was Infected Every 2 Minutes In 2020.-TeluguStop.com

The report warned that a prolonged Covid-19 epidemic is increasing the inequalities that have long driven HIV epidemic.

This puts vulnerable children, adolescents, pregnant mothers, and breastfeeding mothers at greater risk of missing life-saving HIV prevention or treatment services.

“The HIV epidemic enters its fifth ten year in the midst of a global pandemic which has overloaded health systems and restricted access to life-saving services.In a statement, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said that rising poverty, mental illness, and abuse are increasing the risk of infection in children and women.”

Fore stated, “Unless we intensify efforts to address the inequalities that drive the HIV epidemic, which are now exacerbated with Covid-19,”

Alarmingly, 2 out 5 children living with HIV in the world don’t know their status and just over half of HIV-positive children are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART).Discrimination and gender inequalities are two of the many barriers that prevent adequate access to HIV services.

Covid-19 was introduced in 2020 and caused significant disruptions in HIV services in many countries.HIV infant testing in high-burden countries fell by 50-70%, and new treatment initiations for children aged 14-14 years fell by 25%-50%.

Lockdowns were responsible for increased infection rates because of spikes in gender-based violence and limited access to follow up care.

Many countries experienced significant reductions in the number of health facility deliveries, maternal HIV testing, and antiretroviral HIV treatment.

Extreme example: ART coverage among pregnant women in South Asia dropped dramatically from 71% to 56% in 2020.

Although services were re-opened in June 2020, coverage levels are still far below the levels before Covid-19.The true extent of the impact is unknown.

The report warns that a prolonged pandemic in areas heavily affected by HIV could disrupt health care services and increase gaps in global HIV response.

Sub-Saharan Africa was responsible for 89% of new HIV paediatric infections in 2020 and 88% of HIV-infected children and adolescents worldwide.

Adolescent girls are six times more likely than boys to get HIV.Sub-Saharan Africa was home to 88% of AIDS-related deaths in children.

The report stated that despite some progress in fighting HIV and AIDS, children, adolescents, and their families, remained behind in all regions for the past decade.

Global ART coverage for children is far lower than that for pregnant mothers (85%) and adults (74%).

South Asia has the highest rate of children receiving ART treatment (more than 95%), followed by the Middle East & North Africa (77%), East Asia & the Pacific (59%), Eastern and Southern Africa (57%), Latin America & the Caribbean (51%), and West and Central Africa (36%).

Last year, 15.4 million children lost their parents to AIDS-related causes.AIDS-related orphans account for 10% of all orphans in the world.

Fore stated, “Building back better after a pandemic must include HIV responses which are evidence-based and people-centred,” resilient, sustainable, and above all, equitable.These initiatives must be delivered by a strengthened health care system and meaningful participation of all affected communities, particularly the most vulnerable, in order to close the gaps.

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Disclaimer : TeluguStop.com Editorial Team not involved in creation of this article & holds no responsibility for its content..This Article is Provided by IANS, Please contact IANS if any issues in Article .


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