Children and AIDS Fourth Stocktaking Report calls attention to children and young people living in a world with HIV and AIDS. It comes four years after the launch of Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS, an initiative dedicated to putting children at the heart of the global AIDS response. The Stocktaking Report, a joint effort of UNICEF,UNAIDS, WHO and UNFPA, reflects on progress thus far for children, and offers authoritative data, evidence and recommendations on how to accelerate action at all levels.
In 2005, the epidemic’s consequences prompted UNICEF, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and other partners to launch , a global campaign to focus attention and resources on mitigating the worst effects of HIV and AIDS on children and young people. Four years into this effort, many lives have been saved or improved because national governments, non-governmental organizations, local communities and international organizations have been examining the evidence and responding.
The reports provides a brief on the following key areas: prevention of mother-to-child transmission, paediatric care and treatment, preventing infection among adolescents and young people, protection, care and support for children affected by HIV and AIDS, programme monitoring and evaluation.
In terms of care and protection for children affected by HIV and AIDS, the report documents the growing international support for social protection approaches that are both child-sensitive and AIDS sensitive.
In October 2008, in Dublin, the Global Partners Forum for Children Affected by HIV and AIDS resulted in an unprecedented consensus on the factors that adversely influence child well-being within the context of HIV and AIDS. In addition, recent high-level research has enhanced the understanding of childhood vulnerability and documented the most appropriate responses for children affected by HIV andAIDS. Child-sensitive and AIDS-sensitive social protection have been shown to have positive impacts on the well-being of these children.
Scaling up support for children affected by AIDS remains an urgent priority. The UNGASS and Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS target for the proportion of households with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) receiving free, basic external support is 80 per cent. Yet it was reported in Children and AIDS: Third Stocktaking Report that very few households caring for these children were receiving basic external support: a median of 12 per cent.
Vulnerability analyses of the last few years have shown that orphanhood affects vulnerability, but not in all cases. There are many factors that can influence vulnerability, including household wealth and the education levels of adults. In communities where HIV and AIDS intersect with extreme poverty, conflict and high ratios of dependents in a household, helping all vulnerable children is a cost-effective and non-stigmatizing strategy.
