By Michael Gwarisa
ViiV Healthcare has announced a new £9.75 million investment to strengthen HIV services for children and adolescents through the third phase of the Breakthrough Partnership, running from 2026 to 2029.
The investment, made through ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action programme, will support the partnership’s work in Cameroon, Mozambique, Nigeria and Tanzania, with a focus on strengthening community health systems and supporting sustained, government-led HIV responses.
The Paediatric Breakthrough Partnership brings together Aidsfonds, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), Paediatric-Adolescent Treatment Africa (PATA) and UNICEF. ViiV Healthcare Positive Action serves as the funder and coordinator.
The partnership works with national ministries of health and local community organisations to improve paediatric and adolescent HIV outcomes through health facility support, community engagement, healthcare provider training and advocacy.
Children and adolescents continue to face significant gaps in access to HIV treatment and care. According to UNAIDS, an estimated 93,000 children acquired HIV in 2025, while only 55% of children living with HIV were receiving treatment, compared with 79% of adults.
Children accounted for 11% of AIDS-related deaths despite representing only 3% of people living with HIV, highlighting the continuing treatment gap affecting younger populations.
Jenny Cozins, Head of Positive Action at ViiV Healthcare, said the new investment would build on lessons from previous phases of the partnership.
“Through the Breakthrough Partnership, we have seen what is possible when governments, global partners, local implementers and communities work together to close the gaps that still leave far too many children and adolescents without the care they need,” Cozins said.
“Our £9.75 million commitment marks an important next step in the journey towards community health system strengthening and linkage to care, and local ownership and leadership.”
Dr Omokhudu Idogho, Group Chief Executive Officer at Society for Family Health, Aidsfonds’ implementing partner in Nigeria, said community involvement would remain central to the programme.
“On the ground, we see how important it is for children, adolescents and families to have access to services that work for their lives,” Idogho said.
“As the programme moves into its next phase, community leadership will continue to guide the work, because sustainable community health systems are strongest when they are shaped by the people they serve.”
PATA Executive Director Luann Hatane said the next phase would focus on integrating approaches that have demonstrated results into routine health services.
“Ending paediatric HIV requires collaboration at every level and the strength of the Breakthrough Partnership is that it connects community insight with practical delivery across clinics, districts and national systems,” Hatane said.
Since 2020, the Breakthrough Partnership has supported more than 200 health facilities, enabled more than 805,000 mothers, children and adolescents to access HIV testing, and trained more than 4,100 healthcare providers.
The third phase will build on this progress by embedding proven approaches within national and sub-national health systems. Priorities include integrating HIV services into primary healthcare, maternal and child health and adolescent health services.
The partnership will also support community and district health teams to strengthen data use, improve quality of care and build local accountability.
ViiV Healthcare said the investment comes at a time when global health funding is under increasing pressure, with the company seeking to support locally led HIV responses that can continue beyond external funding cycles.
The investment follows ViiV Healthcare’s announcement of more than US$33 million in grants awarded in 2026.
ViiV Healthcare, established in 2009, is a global specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK, with Shionogi as a shareholder. The company focuses on HIV treatment and prevention, access partnerships and community engagement.
