Hundreds of Kenyan babies contracted HIV during birth last year as the country struggles to eliminate mother-to-child infection.
Mother-to-child transmission is about 10.8 per cent of all births, the Ministry of Health reports.
In a new report from the Start Free, Stay Free, Aids Free initiative, anti-Aids campaigners and partners warn that progress has stalled in ending Aids among children, adolescents and young women in many African countries, including Kenya.
None of the 2020 targets were met.
It did not state the reasons, however, it is believed the Covid-19 pandemic may have diverted resources. Further, many people feared going to hospitals lest they contract Covid-19.
The report said the number of children on treatment in Africa declined for the first time; nearly 800,000 children living with HIV are not on treatment.
It also said opportunities to identify infants and young children living with HIV early are being missed — more than one-third of children born to mothers living with HIV were not tested.
If untreated, around 50 per cent of children living with HIV die before they reach their second birthday.
“Over 20 years ago, initiatives for families and children to prevent vertical transmission and to eliminate children dying of Aids truly kick-started our global Aids response," the report said.
This stemmed from an unprecedented activation of all partners.
"Yet, despite early and dramatic progress, despite more tools and knowledge than ever before, children are falling way behind adults and way behind our goals,” said Shannon Hader, UNAids deputy executive director.
The inequalities are striking — children are nearly 40 per cent less likely than adults to be on life-saving treatment (54 per cent of children versus 74 per cent of adults, she said.
"Just five per cent of all people living with HIV are children, but children account for 15 per cent of all Aids-related deaths, Hader said.
"This is about children’s right to health and healthy lives, their value in our societies. It’s time to reactivate on all fronts —the need the leadership, activism, and investments to do what’s right for kids.”
Start Free, Stay Free, Aids Free is a five-year framework that began in 2015. It followed the very successful Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015
It called for a super Fast-Track approach to ensure every child has an HIV-free beginning to stay HIV-free through adolescence. It calls for every child and adolescent living with HIV to have access to antiretroviral therapy.
(Edited by V. Graham)