E-DRUG: DNDi on Scale-Up of Pediatric HIV Treatment in PEPFAR Blueprint
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DNDi Applauds Call for Scale-Up of Pediatric HIV Treatment
in US PEPFAR Blueprint for an AIDS-Free Generation
Age-appropriate formulations of antiretroviral drugs urgently need to be
developed and delivered to save the lives of babies and toddlers living with HIV/AIDS
[New York/Geneva, November 30, 2012] The Drugs for Neglected Diseases
initiative (DNDi) welcomed the US Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR)s new PEPFAR Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-Free Generation,
released by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in advance of World AIDS
Day, and its focus on ensuring ambitious scale-up of treatment and diagnosis
for people with HIV/AIDS, including children living with HIV/AIDS.
The focus of the new PEPFAR Blueprint is on rapid scale-up of high-impact
interventions to increase access to treatment and reduce new infections
broadly, and is not specifically focused on the needs of children with
HIV/AIDS. However, it lays out four Road Maps for creating an AIDS-free
generation, including a Road Map for Saving Lives, which includes the
action step of increasing coverage of HIV treatment, and this section
details the need to Build capacity to ensure HIV diagnostics and ART for
children are scaled-up, including EID [early infant diagnosis] and
age-appropriate pediatric formulations of ARVs, particularly for infants and
young children at highest risk of dying without treatment.
We must not lose sight of the urgent treatment needs of children with
HIV/AIDS, especially the youngest and most vulnerable who are at great risk
of dying, said Rachel Cohen, Regional Executive Director of DNDi North
America. The inclusion in the PEPFAR Blueprint of specific
recommendations to scale up treatment with child-adapted antiretrovirals is
a welcome development, and we look forward to working with PEPFAR and other
partners to help make this a reality.
Due to a lack of ARV formulations suitable for the youngest children, DNDi
is working with Cipla and other partners to develop an improved first-line
therapy for infants and toddlers with HIV/AIDS.
An estimated 3.4 million children (<15 years old) are living with HIV/AIDS,
but only 28% of those in urgent need of treatment are receiving it, compared
with 54% of adults. Without treatment, half of all HIV-positive children
will die before the age of two, and 80% will die before they turn five.