Metropolitan Model United Nations Conference XLII UNICEF

AIDS and Children

Around 34.0 million people were living with HIV as of 2011. Nearly 7,000 people become infected with HIV every day. In addition, nearly 5,000 people die each day from AIDS. Near 17.3 million children under 18 have lost parents to AIDS, resulting in poverty, homelessness, discrimination, and loss of life opportunities. Doctors Without Borders estimates that 2.1 million children are infected with the HIV virus, 90% of who are from sub-Saharan Africa. Only 10% receive any treatment for the disease. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV damages the immune system. It interferes with the bodys ability to fight disease. Currently, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS. However, there are medications that can slow the progression of the disease. These medications have reduced AIDS deaths in many developed nations. AIDS continues to demolish populations in Africa, Haiti, and parts of Asia. HIV can be sexually transmitted. It also spreads by contact with infected blood, and from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. HIV continues to weaken the immune system until AIDS develops. Every day around 1,000 babies are infected with HIV through transmission from their mother. Nearly half of all HIV-positive infants without treatment die before their second birthday. Death rates would be much lower if mothers had access to antiretroviral therapy. Prevention of mother-to-child-transmission is the most effective way to create an HIV-free generation. In developed countries, where people have access to anti-viral drugs, transmission from mother to child is rare. However, in developing countries, mothers lack access to such drugs. Thus, pediatric HIV-AIDS is a problem in poor countries. Drug companies have little incentive to develop affordable drugs to treat AIDS in children in these countries, although anti-virals have been shown to be effective when started early in life. UNICEF has made a commitment to achieve an AIDS-free generation by 2015. UNICEF works to provide the HIV testing, counseling, medication and support that mothers need to protect their children. This improved access to testing services now allows 61% of pregnant women in eastern and southern Africa to obtain testing and counseling for HIV. UNICEF hopes to reduce new HIV infections in children by eliminating mother-to-child infection, reduce new infections in adolescence by fifty percent, and provide treatment and support for children and adolescents. Addressing childhood AIDS requires different approaches than preventing and treating adult AIDS. Ensuring that children with HIV/AIDS are no longer neglected requires: Boosting diagnosis: more effort and funds to be placed on diagnosing children under 18 months so that treatment can be started as soon as possible

 Improving treatment: governments and other actors to start treating more pediatric HIV patients Accelerating drug studies for pediatric treatments: children need more treatment options to be available sooner Addressing the constraints that exist in delivering treatment in remote settings. For example, drugs that need refrigeration cannot be safely transported throughout many of the regions in which children most need them. AIDS impacts children even when they do have the disease themselves. The children of Sub-Saharan Africa suffer the most. As of 2011, more than 17 million children had lost one or both parents to AIDS. 90% of these children live in SubSaharan Africa. Children often have to take care of an ill parent. Sick parents are not able to work or protect their children. Schooling suffers as a result, and health and security are put at risk. Children also become orphans as parents suffer from AIDS. The children are lucky if they have grandparents to raise them, but most of these children grow up in extreme poverty, suffering from all of the problems associated with poverty. While the problems associated with HIV/AIDS are at their worst in Africa, AIDS remains a matter of concern in Asia. The virus is transmitted among people associated with sex industries and drug markets. It is encouraged by the flow of population mobility. This includes the flow of migrant laborers. Until there is a comprehensive policy to eliminate stigma against HIV carriers, the virus will continue to affect people in Asia. In addition, high numbers of children are trafficked in Asia for purposes of sexual exploitation; these children are at tremendous risk of contracting HIV and developing AIDS. The UNICEF HIV/AIDS Innovation Fund works with top HIV experts that invest in high impact, low-cost interventions and technologies to reach the goal of an AIDS free generation by 2015. The fund is co-sponsored by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and the Global Business Coalition for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The fund creates a network of partners across 150 developing countries to help provide ideas. The fund deploys 5 million dollars annually to support projects with the greatest potential. It is the charge of this committee to address the disparity between developed countries and the developing countries in terms of HIV and AIDS in children. No childs health and fate should be determined by their homeland, yet it is clear that where a child is born has a huge impact on whether or not he or she will live a life impacted by HIV and AIDS. The committee must consider both HIV/AIDS in children, and the effects of HIV/AIDS infection in the adults in their lives. Questions to Consider: How many children in your country have AIDS or are impacted by AIDS in the adults in their communities? How does your country help people with AIDS?

 What are some solutions that would be helpful in eliminating the spread of AIDS in your country? Sources: http://www.unaids.org/en/dataanalysis/knowyourepidemic/ Towards an AIDS-Free Generation Children and AIDS Sixth Stocktaking Report, 2013, http://www.childrenandaids.org/files/str6_full_report_interactive_29-11-2013.pdf Global Report: UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic 2013, http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/campaigns/globalreport2013/index.html http://www.unicef.org/aids/index.html http://www.unicefusa.org/work/hivaids/ http://www.globalissues.org/article/90/aids-in-africa http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2013/05/10/aids-in-asia-hopes-and-challenges/