By Kuda Pembere
While hovering above 50 percent in terms Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) coverage amongst children seemingly looks fancy compared to other African countries with coverage as low as 6 percent, Zimbabwe needs to improve to fulfil its promises for the Global Alliance to End AIDS in Children by 2030.
Global Alliance to End AIDS in Children by 2030 was launched in Montreal Canada in 2022.
To achieve the goal of ensuring that 95 percent of children aged between 0 and 19 know their status, get placed on ART to get viral suppression, pregnant mothers and breast-feeding children should adhere to their treatment while ensuring that children are tested early to prevent fast disease regression in conditions such as meningitis, pneumonia and chronic diarrhea resulting in early deaths.
This was said by Dr Angela Mushavi, the Elimination of Vertical Transmission of HIV, Syphilis and Hepatitis B in the Ministry of Health and Child Care while addressing an engagement meeting of Women Living with HIV and duty bearers at Country Level on the Global Alliance commitments.
“The Global Alliance to end aids among children by 2030 is an initiative targeted at dealing with this low coverage. For pregnant, breastfeeding women, we found ART coverage is 88 percent. For children its 62.5.
“We are not doing well. So, the Global Alliance is an initiative launched in Montreal in Canada in 2022. It’s a global thing. We may think these numbers are only for Zimbabwe. A lot of countries are struggling with women ART coverage for prevention and for children ART coverage for their own health. So, it’s a global initiative.
“This Global Alliance, children have poor ART coverage as low as 7 percent or 43 percent. That is not good. So for Zimbabwe in 2022 it was 73 percent for children and we dropped down to 63 percent. We are not doing well.
“This initiative also recognizes that a child not on ART is a very high risk child. If a child is not on ART, they can have pneumonia, meningitis, chronic diarrhea, malnutrition and TB and they will die,” she said.
She bemoaned how children are close to four times more likely to succumb to HIV related deaths than adults.
“The way HIV develops in a child, it develops faster, severe disease. If you look at the number of deaths among adults living with HIV, its about 4 percent in general but for children living with HIV percentage who die its about 15 percent.
“So our children are vulnerable. They are at risk. And we don’t want to wait to find them when they are ten years old or 15 years. We want to find them early and put them on treatment early so that they don’t die,” Dr Mushavi remarked.
While 96 percent of adults are on ART, latest figures show that of 70 779 known to be living with HIV, 62.5 are on treatment which is a low figure to Dr Mushavi.
“We have in the country about 70 579 children who are HIV positive. If we are doing our work well, all of them that are living with HIV, we must know these babies. They must be known they are living with HIV, all of them and they must be on ART. That should be our target.
“Anybody living with HIv should be on ART so that they have a good quality life including our children. One thing when you look at the children and adults, there is a huge difference between the treatment coverage for adults and that of children.
“So for adults, 96 percent of them are on ART. Can you imagine? Meaning just about 4 percent are the ones not yet on ART but the majority are on ART. It is excellent. Because if you are taking your medication, you will lead a good quality life.
“We also want the same for children. But ook at the coverage, and treatment for children. Out of the 70 579 children who are HIV positive. We have only managed to put 62.5 percent on ART. For adults we are good. For children ahh. I know they say 50 percent is a pass mark but this is not good.
“So do you see where we are not being fair to our children? Coverage of 62.5 percent compared to 96.5 percent. There is a big difference there. A 34 percent difference that is huge,” she said.
Tendayi Westerhof, national director of the PAN-African Positive Women’s Coalition Zimbabwe (PAPWC-ZIM) said everyone should be involved for improved ART coverage in children.
“You can’t talk about the child without talking about the mother or their family. So whatever interventions we are doing, should be holistic and to be family centric.
“So we should involve everyone to ensure that the child if they are born with HIV, they are put on treatment. If born without HIV, they remain HIV negative, until they reach adulthood or for the rest of their life,” she said.
Concern over poor ART coverage in Zim children
