Anti-AIDS campaign for children launched in Davao City meet

DAVAO CITY — The United Nations International Children’s Fund (Unicef) launched here on Saturday a campaign for a child-focused global approach to address HIV-AIDS.

UNICEF country representative to the Philippines Nick Alipui led more than 600 delegates to the 8th Philippine National Convention on AIDS in launching the "Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS" campaign.

Alipui said the global fight against HIV-AIDS is largely focused on adults and that there are not enough programs in place to protect children from HIV-AIDS or rehabilitate those already afflicted with the disease.

Alipui urged that protection, care, support and treatment of children and adolescents be given priority in the overall HIV/AIDS agenda.

Organizers of the campaign hope to reduce the number of young people with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) by 25 percent globally by 2010.

It also aims to provide affected children with pediatric treatment — antiretroviral treatment or cotrimoxazole, or both — also by 2010.

Reports say AIDS-related illnesses kill one child under 15 every minute worldwide. Adolescents and young people aged 15 to 24 contract HIV every 15 seconds.

However, there are no data yet on the number of children afflicted with HIV/AIDS in the Philippines.

There were about 2,500 HIV cases in the country as of June. AIDS-HIV cases are reportedly bigger in other Asian countries.

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) country representative Nileema Noble said the Philippines should seize the opportunity provided by the relatively fewer cases of HIV-AIDS in the country by addressing the problem swiftly.

"We must act at once to prevent the spread of the disease and to support those who are already affected. We must act now to keep the next generation free of infection as they pass from childhood to adolescence to adulthood," Noble said.