HIV/Aids kills 40% of kids under 5


HIV/Aids has now become the leading cause of deaths in South Africa of children under the age of five years, according to the University of Cape Town's Children's Institute (CI).

The HIV and Aids pandemic is first among a number of factors standing in the way of realising child rights in South Africa, CI director Professor Marian Jacobs told journalists on Tuesday.

Speaking at the launch of the institute's annual publication on the situation of South Africa's children ? to coincide with World Aids Day on Thursday ? she said a comprehensive response to children infected and affected by the disease was necessary.

Medical Research Council (MRC) studies indicated that 40 percent of deaths of children under the age of five years were directly attributable to HIV and Aids.

"This means that HIV/Aids is the leading cause of deaths among children under five years of age ? nationally and across all provinces ? primarily due to HIV transmission before and during the birth process."

Poverty

At the same time, diseases of poverty accounted for at least 30 percent of all under five child deaths, Jacobs said.

The CI's publication, "South African Child Gauge", is the first of its kind for the country, and is aimed at providing an annual reminder of the challenges South Africa still faces in promoting and protecting child rights.

Every year it will present an analysis of legislative and policy developments related to children's rights, qualitative essays on a themed topic, and child-centred data on the realisation of children's socio-economic rights.

The first edition focuses on the theme of children and HIV and Aids.

Child rights

According to document, the second major obstacle to the realisation of child rights is the ongoing income inequality and widespread poverty that continues in the country.

Statistics for 2004 show that almost 12 million children (66 percent of the child population) were living in poverty.

Jacobs said the fact that the unemployment rate was rising alongside the HIV infection rate was of great concern, because poverty deepened the effects of HIV and Aids on households, while the disease in turn aggravated already existing poverty.

"Given that HIV/Aids is compounding the general ill-health effects of poverty, it is important to reflect on the comprehensive health care needs of children with HIV infection.

"A comprehensive health care package can improve child health, prolong life and delay the need for antiretrovirals," she said.

Prevention

CI deputy director Dr Maylene Shung-King, said the first priority ? and the most significant response ? was the prevention of childhood HIV infection.

"Around the world, almost two-thirds of new infections that occur in children are through mother-to-child transmission.

"It therefore makes sense to target mother-to-child transmission as the first area of prevention.

"In this regard there is an urgent need for a focused drive to help pregnant women counter the fear of stigma to encourage voluntary counselling and testing, and to emphasise the benefits of prevention of mother-to-child transmission to the next generation, while improvements to health service delivery should also be prioritised."

The CI analysis of government's plan on the care, management and treatment of HIV/Aids indicated it did not adequately address two key interventions ? reducing HIV infection in adults and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission.

"Both these interventions would have the greatest effect on reducing HIV in children," Shung-King said.

Other issues related to children and HIV/Aids in the publication include the need for appropriate social security to children affected by HIV and Aids, the use of schools as nodes of care and support to identify and support children most in need, and the importance of children's participation in decisions that affect their lives, particularly in the context of poverty and HIV/Aids.