New programme in Lesotho intends to stop the increase of HIV

Life saving Programmes: This programme is specifically for pregnant HIV infected mothers. This programme provides ARV drugs for the pregnant mothers as it was effective during 2008 and 2009. Only three of the 198 children born in that district were HIV-positive while rest of them was safe. This past January, 100 pregnant women walked three kilometers led by a police band, to focus the launch ceremony.

Many were present for this such as Lesotho’s Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Mphu Ramatlapeng, UNICEF Chief of HIV and AIDS, Jimmy Kolker, WHO, Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Baylor International AIDS Initiative, Pediatric AIDS Institute and Mothers2Mothers , along with chiefs of diplomatic missions and NGO partners.
Dr. Ramatlapeng said “It is the aim of the Government of Lesotho to ensure that all children in this country are born HIV free. Lesotho is committed to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV before 2015,” She also confirmed that she aims to make the Mother-Baby Pack available in all of the country’s 194 health centre’s by the end of the year.
UNICEF’s ultimate purpose: Every Antenatal Care Clinics in the country will provide this package of ARV medicines and antibiotics in order to protect the health both mother and the child. This package will include HIV positive pregnant women who are already on anti-retroviral treatment, pregnant women who test HIV positive during their first antenatal visit and HIV negative pregnant women who are receiving vitamin tablets. The three boxes come with a leaflet with understandable instructions on which drugs the mothers and babies should take.
Mr. Kolker said “UNICEF’s goal is to eliminate vertical transmission of HIV from mother to child and to ensure that all children are born HIV negative,”

UNICEF public service statement urges focus on HIV anticipation

On 22 July, experts will gather in Washington, D.C.,for the International AIDS Society’s biennial conference on rolling back the HIV and AIDS epidemic. UNICEF will host a leadership forum stressing the need for innovation in eliminating new HIV infections in children. This story is part of a series illustrating UNICEF's efforts on behalf of children and women affected by HIV.

As a sponsor of these awards, UNICEF Uganda created a 30-second public service announcement about HIV prevention – a key priority for the organization. Every day about 1,000 children are newly infected with HIV. Most of them are born in sub-Saharan Africa,” says the animated announcement.

UNICEF HIV and AIDS Chief Craig McClure will also lead a UNICEF delegation to the conference, with staff members emphasizing the need for coordinated action to bring new infections down to zero. The public service announcement will be broadcast on CNN International throughout the month of July, in the lead-up to the actual awards ceremony, which will be held on Saturday, 21 July 2012 in Lusaka, Zambia.

UNICEF at Vienna International AIDS Conference: Children and Young People in Focus at AIDS 2010 Conference

UNICEF experts in HIV and AIDS, gathered from over 35 countries, said that the just concluded International AIDS Conference re-affirmed the critical importance of preventing mother to child transmission of HIV. However stigma is still a major factor in keeping women and young people from accessing the services they need.

The number of children born with the virus every year is around 400,000. AIDS 2010 made the goal of effective elimination of HIV in newborns a worldwide priority. UNICEF makes effective elimination of Mother to Child Transmission a primary focus of its work, Executive Director Tony Lake told the conference.

“We have the evidence and we have the momentum that we need to have,” said Jimmy Kolker, chief of HIV and AIDS, UNICEF. “The next wave of response should be shaped by reaching those hardest to reach so that coverage and follow up can be truly universal. Mother and child health and survival depend on it.” The success of PMTCT depends in good part on focusing on difficult and sensitive issues, such as drug use in pregnant women with HIV.

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UNICEF Executive Director launches innovative approach to the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Kenya

UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake joined the Kenya Government and other partners on Friday to roll out an innovative approach to prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to their babies (PMTCT). The initiative includes a combination of interventions and supplies such as a “Mother-Baby-Pack” of antiretroviral drugs and antibiotics, which women can easily administer at home.
The “Mother-Baby-Pack” is part of the government’s Maisha MTCT-free Zone Initiative. This innovative programme is designed to help virtually eliminate mother-to-child-transmission of HIV and pediatric AIDS by 2013 in Nyanza and Rift Valley provinces, where about half of all Kenyan children with HIV live, and by 2015 in the entire country. Without treatment, around half of all children born with HIV will die before their second birthday.
Mr. Lake commended the Kenya government for its commitment to take innovative steps to expand and strengthen the quality of PMTCT services. “Maisha" means “Life” in Kiswahili, and I can think of no better way to describe a programme with the potential to save so many lives. The Maisha Initiative is a significant step forward towards our common goal of virtually eliminating mother to child transmission in Kenya,” he said.
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Refocusing HIV efforts in sub-Saharan Africa

In the push to reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS by 2015, as called for by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals – a set of internationally recognized targets for reducing poverty worldwide – success may depend on forging connections with young African women, so that they are able to protect themselves and their partners against the epidemic.

The report shows that about four million young people aged 15 to 24 were living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa in 2008. The region also has the largest number of new HIV infections. If the epidemic is to be reversed in time to meet the deadline, change must happen there – and it must happen now.

"What we know is that HIV infection rises dramatically in young women between the ages of about 15 and 25,” Dr. Whiteside said. “So if we could address this, then I think we could go a long way towards stopping the epidemic.”

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UNICEF Executive Director launches innovative approach to the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Kenya

UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake joined the Kenya Government and other partners on Friday to roll out an innovative approach to prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to their babies (PMTCT). The initiative includes a combination of interventions and supplies such as a “Mother-Baby-Pack” of antiretroviral drugs and antibiotics, which women can easily administer at home.
The “Mother-Baby-Pack” is part of the government’s Maisha MTCT-free Zone Initiative. This innovative programme is designed to help virtually eliminate mother-to-child-transmission of HIV and pediatric AIDS by 2013 in Nyanza and Rift Valley provinces, where about half of all Kenyan children with HIV live, and by 2015 in the entire country. Without treatment, around half of all children born with HIV will die before their second birthday.
Mr. Lake commended the Kenya government for its commitment to take innovative steps to expand and strengthen the quality of PMTCT services. “Maisha" means “Life” in Kiswahili, and I can think of no better way to describe a programme with the potential to save so many lives. The Maisha Initiative is a significant step forward towards our common goal of virtually eliminating mother to child transmission in Kenya,” he said.
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UNICEF greets results of study suggesting HIV prevalence has dropped among children

UNICEF welcomed the results of a study by the Human Sciences Research Council suggesting that HIV prevalence has dropped by more than half in children ages 2-14. According to the survey, HIV frequency dropped from 5.6% in 2002 to 2.5% in 2008.

UNICEF Representative Aida Girma supposed, “For the first time ever, we have a measure of levels of HIV in children under two. Surveys such as this offer useful data to guide programming for children.

UNICEF is committed to continuing to support the Department of Health and other partners in the follow-up from this significant work.” Ms. Girma added that UNICEF plans to focus on strengthening districts’ capacities to offer quality health services that are responsive to the needs of women, children, and adolescents, and will work to ensure that their protection and access to quality education are also secure.

Empowering youth to prevent HIV in Rwanda

Situated in the lush green hills that surround Lake Kivu in southwest Rwanda, Nkanke Parish church is working toward a future free of HIV and AIDS.

Adolescents at the parish have joined a focus group that provides their community with information about HIV and AIDS, and supports those among them living with the disease. The group is part of a larger community empowerment project supported by UNICEF and the Government of Japan.

UNICEF-supported programmes help families living with HIV in Angola

The bright red train carriage looks slightly out of place beside the square concrete architecture of Luanda’s Bernardino Paediatric Hospital, but the children love it. Inside the carriage, a group of toddlers are happily playing with building blocks under the supervision of social worker Frangueira Bernado António.

"We have an odd situation here, where children ask their mothers to bring them to the hospital because it's fun," said Mr. António. Although it began as a distraction for the children awaiting consultations and treatment at the hospital, the train car has become a useful therapeutic tool in itself – providing much-needed recreation, in particular, for the children at Bernardino being treated for HIV.

Angola is home to an estimated 190,000 people living with the virus, including 110,000 women. Alongside local activists and social workers such as Mr. António, UNICEF is working to support mothers here and prevent the spread of HIV from women to their babies.

Counseling and recreation

To raise HIV awareness among young people in PK 12, UNICEF is working with partners USAID and Family Health International to provide counseling and recreational activities.

As part of this effort, container has been converted into a center where both the truck drivers and young people from the community can learn about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

"We reach out to young people here to teach them how they can protect themselves, through Puppet Theater, films and interactive activities," says Filsan Abdi Osman, Program Assistant at Family Health International. "We also reach out to the truck drivers to tell them where to go for voluntary HIV testing and treatment."

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UN Children’s agency in Vienna to focus on the children and the social exclusion and stigma of HIV and AIDS

UNICEF announced the agency’s participation in the 2010 XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna in July.

UNICEF’s Executive Director Tony Lake will launch a groundbreaking report on the social exclusion of children and young people affected by HIV and AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The report highlights underlying causes of the epidemic that are unique to the region, including the complex challenges that make youth vulnerable to HIV or early death due to drug use and other diseases.

Later that day, Lake will take part in a roundtable discussion on bottlenecks in the delivery of pediatric AIDS medications, together with the Global Fund’s Michel Kazatchkine and the Global AIDS Alliance.

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Young of Central Asia and Eastern Europe suffering Blame and Banishment

An underground HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is intensifying at an alarming pace, fueled by drug use, high-risk sexual behavior and high levels of social stigma that discourage people from seeking prevention information and treatment, according to a new report released today by UNICEF.

Marginalized young people are exposed on a daily basis to multiple risks, including drug use, commercial sex and other exploitation and abuse, putting them at higher risk of contracting HIV. The trends are especially troubling, as the region is home to 3.7 million injecting drug users – almost a quarter of the world total.

For many, initiation into drug use begins in adolescence. Existing health and social welfare services are not tailored to adolescents at greatest risk, who are often exposed to moral judgment, recrimination and even criminal prosecution when they seek treatment and information on HIV.

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Vulnerable Indian Adolescent Girls

India has the highest adolescent population and the real challenge is to provide health, nutrition and education in this segment, specifically for girls, according to a UNICEF report. “Adolescence: Age of Opportunities” report focus on nutrition, educational conditions and health of Indian adolescents.
Lawmaker Naveen Jindal- Representative of UNICEF India said that rapid economic growth in the past two decades has helped better the condition of adolescents in India. He continues saying that despite the improved scenario, partiality between girls and boys still present. The major health problem among Indian female adolescents is Anemia. "We have seen that parents, they try to feed the boys better, than the girl, which must change. Adolescent girls in India are the most vulnerable. About 56 per cent girls in India in the age group of 15-19 are anemic” said by Jindal.
Karin Hulshof, UNICEF India Representative, said: “The available data shows that maximum adolescence today, do not get to enjoy or have access to quality education, basic sexual reproductive health care, support for mental health issue and disability and protection from violence, abuse and exploitation and a forum for their participation. Worldwide, one third of all new HIV cases involve young people between the ages of 15-24. The risk of HIV is considerably higher amongst the adolescent females and young women than adolescent males and young men," he added. “Girls were the core source of India's growth, therefore their progress needs to be given importance” said D.K Sikri, Ministry of Women and Child Development Secretary.

UNICEF Humanitarian Action Update: Central African Republic

Over the next three months UNICEF requires US$4.2 million to respond to the most urgent needs of children and women affected by insecurity and chronic conflict in the Central African Republic.

The insecurity and chronic conflict in the Central African Republic continues to impact tens of thousands of children's lives in the northern and eastern regions of the country. It is estimated that at least a quarter of the population has been affected by the conflict. Other challenges are frequent outbreaks of epidemic diseases, rising prices of food and other essential commodities, humanitarian access in some parts of the country and limited resources to meet humanitarian needs.

In close collaboration with local, national and international partners, UNICEF continues to respond to the humanitarian needs of the population affected by conflict in the priority areas of health, nutrition, WASH, HIV/AIDS, education and child protection. Overall funding status of the office remains a concern, with health, WASH and HIV/AIDS being particularly underfunded.
As part of the 2010 HAR and the CAP joint appeal, UNICEF currently still needs US $10,148,270 to be able to respond to the needs of children and women in the Central African Republic. The response from the donor community has been limited thus far, with only US $ 2,569,720, or 20 per cent, received to date. The most urgent funding priorities over the next three months amount to US$ 4,200,000.

UK’s UNICEF executive director - David Bull

In September 1999, David Bull joined the United Nations Children's Fund as Executive Director of the UK Committee. Since then UNICEF UK's voluntary income has more than trebled and the charity has positioned itself as an advocate for the world's children through a series of campaigns focusing on maternal health, poverty, conflict, exploitation and HIV/AIDS.

Recent projects include the children's parallel G8 summit, the Rights Respecting School Award programme and advocacy for Child Wellbeing in the UK.

Ever since Mr. Bull joined the UNICEF UK, he has visited UNICEF development and emergency programmes in many countries, including Sudan (Darfur), Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, India, Iran, Sri Lanka (Tsunami emergency), Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Bosnia, Kosovo, Laos, Cambodia, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Jordan, Egypt, the Philippines and Somalia.

Mr Bull was previously Director of Amnesty International's UK Section (1990-1999). From 1987-1990 he was General Secretary of the World University Service (UK) and prior to that he was Executive Director of the Environment Liaison Centre in Kenya (1984-87) and Public Affairs Officer at Oxfam (1979-1984).

He was a founder of the Pesticides Action Network (PAN) and he is the author of 'A Growing Problem: Pesticides and Third World Poor' (1982) and 'Kampuchea: the Poverty of Diplomacy'. He has been a Trustee of PAN UK and of the Refugee Council, and is an observer member of the FTSE4Good Policy Committee. He has a degree in Economics from the University of Sussex and an MSc in Development Studies and an Honorary.

Orphaned and vulnerable

Despite progress made since the apartheid era, South Africa remains one of the world’s most unequal countries in terms of income disparities. HIV/AIDS has also had a devastating impact. It is estimated that over half of the country’s 2.5 million orphans have lost a parent to AIDS.

Out of the 400 students at Lyndhurst Primary School, 81 have lost one parent and 24 have lost both. In addition to the distress of being orphaned, these children are highly vulnerable to abuse.

More than 50 students at the Lyndhurst Primary School, including Nokwanda, walk for hours along isolated paths to get to class. Bacause of this, Rates of sexual assault in South Africa are among the highest in the world, and children are most at risk.

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With a focus on rights, Austria to host bi-annual international AIDS conference

Over 25,000 delegates are expected to attend ‘AIDS 2010,’ the XVIII International AIDS Conference, which will take place between 18 and 23 July in Vienna, Austria.
The bi-annual conference brings together professionals working around the world in the field of AIDS prevention and treatment, people living with HIV, and health policy-makers. For the first time, this year’s theme – ‘Rights Here, Right Now’ – is bringing a human rights-based focus to the event.

The International AIDS Conference traditionally has a major public presence, drawing huge crowds with high-profile events.
This year, some 15,000 people are expected to gather on 20 July for a human rights march through the streets of Vienna. The march will conclude in the Heldenplatz historical plaza, where activists and leaders will address the crowd. Celebrated international musician Annie Lennox will give a special presentation and musical performance.

Dr. Priscilla Akwara and team receive award at XVIII International AIDS Conference

When UNICEF statistics expert Dr. Priscilla Akwara looked at the usual ways of assessing a child’s vulnerability in the face of HIV and AIDS, what she saw wasn’t true to her own experience. And so, collaborating with nine co-authors, she became a detective, combing through data to find out which factors can reliably be seen to make a child vulnerable.

The conclusions reached by Dr. Akwara and her co-authors have led to a prestigious award given at the XVIII International AIDS Conference, which is under way this week in Vienna, Austria.

In a ceremony at the conference today, the International AIDS Society (IAS) and the Coalition on Children Affected by AIDS (CCABA) honoured Dr. Akwara and her team with the IAS/CCABA Prize for Excellence in Research Related to the Needs of Children Affected by AIDS.

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