Children and HI/AIDS as written for Prof. Keith Hansen, Sierra Nevada College

Subject:
Children around the world are still being infected with HIV

Issue Description:
International efforts to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV, although continuing to intensify, are still not working.

Critical Information:
In 2014 the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that an estimated that the number of children infected with HIV in low and middle income countries declined 40% in 2013, which is down from 400,000 in 2009 to 240,000.  However, the WHO does not feel that this is satisfactory and has created a plan for 2015 dedicated to end HIV infections among children, and keep their mothers alive.

Analysis:
The 2015 Global Plan boasts several improvements to the original plan that have contributed to the decrease in infections.  These improvements include: One, about 2/3 of all pregnant women living with HIV in low and middle class income countries have received ARV drugs that prevent mother to child transmissions.  Two, almost half of the 58 WHO HIV focus countries have adopted WHO recommendations to provide lifelong ART to all pregnant women living with HIV.  Three, all 21 Global Plan Priority countries in the WHO African Region now have guidelines that officially endorse option B or B+.

Conclusion:
Currently, there is a downtrend in the transmission of mothers that are infected with HIV to their children, However, the effort is not good enough.  The primary reason efforts are failing is because mothers take their recommended doses of ART, but, when they begin to feel better, go back to work, etc.  They stop taking the drug.  Therefore better education must be provided to truly combat the disease, and its transmission from mother to child.