Global Approach to AIDS Overlooks Children

A general consensus that has emerged from the International AIDS conference currently being held in Mexico is that the global approach to fighting AIDS does too little for
children. According to health workers at the conference, much of the government money earmarked for combating AIDS in developing countries goes to consultants and
overheard costs, with little of that money directly helping children.

Infected pregnant women need expanded access to antiretroviral drugs to avoid passing the HIV virus onto their babies. And even healthy children in AIDS-affected communities need much more nutritional and psychological help than they are currently getting — it’s estimated that only about 6 to 10 percent of children who need therapy are getting it, compared with 30 percent of adults.

One health worker suggested that one way aid money could more directly benefit children would be to give the money directly to communities and families. She pointed out that it has been shown that poor people make good decisions about how to obtain nutritional and medical help for their families if they are given the resources to do so.

Photo: Maciej Dakowicz/photo.net