By Lexi Elo
Over the last decade, tremendous progress has been made in expanding access to antiretroviral therapy for adults, but efforts to reach children and adolescents living with HIV have not moved as fast. Globally, over three million children are living with HIV, 90 percent of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. Only a
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]quarter of children living with HIV has access to antiretroviral therapy, and in some countries coverage for children is half the coverage for adults.
Evidence shows that without it, 50 percent of children living with HIV may die before their second birthday and 80 percent before their fifth birthday.
Martin Auton, who leads sourcing of HIV Products at the Global Fund, said the pediatric ARV market has traditionally been small and fragmented. Specific challenges of producing ARVs for children, including the fact that individual country demand is often lower than production batch sizes, and non-availability of more child-friendly drug combinations, have long been obstacles.
This gap is unacceptable, many partners agree. Working together, national governments, external donors, international agencies, non-profit product developers and the private sector are mobilizing actions and high-profile initiatives to accelerate children’s access to HIV treatment.
In late 2014, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) announced the Accelerating Children’s HIV/AIDS Treatment Initiative, to double the number of children receiving antiretroviral treatment in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Global Fund, one the largest funders of pediatric ARV globally along with PEPFAR, is building on this momentum. Last December, the Global Fund chaired a Pediatric ARV Procurement Working Group to define priorities for a coordinated approach to the procurement of paediatric ARVs.
The working group brings together partners and stakeholders including the Ethiopia Pharmaceuticals Fund and Supply Agency, Kenya Medical Supply Agency, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, Partnership for Supply Chain Management, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the Pan-American Health Organisation, Supply Chain Management Systems, PEPFAR, UNICEF and UNITAID. The group is intensifying efforts to improve the supply and to promote the use of the best formulations.
WHO and other partners convened coordinated events to provide inputs into future WHO guidance on ARV regimens and dosage forms for children.
Deliberations are upbeat with the objective of developing new combination products that do not currently exist. Auton said global initiatives by many partners aimed at developing effective and easy-to-take medicines and at making them widely available are closing the gap. “Ending pediatric AIDS needs shared responsibility.”
