150,000 Children Infected With HIV In Nigeria – UNICEF Report

In Nigeria, no fewer than 22,000 children aged 0-14 years in 2019 were newly infected with HIV, bringing the total number of children living with HIV in the age group to 150,000, a UNICEF report has said.

According to the report, approximately every minute and 40 seconds, a child or young person under the age of 20 was newly infected with HIV last year, bringing the total number of children living with HIV globally to 2.8 millionm

The report stated that almost 15 per cent of global AIDS-related deaths in children and adolescents globally occur in Nigeria even as it warned of COVID-19 disruptions to HIV service delivery in one third of high burden countries.

“Prevention efforts and treatment for children remain some of the lowest amongst key affected populations. In 2019, a little more than half of children worldwide had access to life-saving treatment, significantly lagging behind coverage for both mothers (85 per cent) and all adults living with HIV (62 per cent). Nearly 110,000 children died of AIDS that year. In Nigeria 13,000 children aged 0-14 years died of AIDS-related causes in 2019”

“Despite some progress in the decades-long fight against HIV and AIDS, deep regional disparities persist among all populations, especially for children, the report says. Pediatric coverage of antiretroviral treatment is highest in the Middle East and North Africa, at 81 per cent, and lowest in West and Central Africa (32 per cent). In Nigeria, it is 36 per cent.

“The world is still struggling with the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, but there is now hope for a vaccine. But we must remember that there is no vaccine for HIV,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Nigeria Representative.

“Hundreds of thousands of children continue to suffer the impacts of the HIV epidemic. Children are still getting infected at alarming rates, and they are still dying from AIDS. Even with improvements in recent years, HIV treatment access for children and adolescents is unacceptably low, and much more needs to be done to ensure children get the treatment they need and deserve.

“COVID-19 has interrupted vital HIV treatment and prevention services globally, putting countless more lives at risk. The COVID-19 crisis has also further exacerbated inequities in access to life-saving HIV services for children, adolescents and pregnant mothers everywhere.