The Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) released its National Strategic Plan for Ending AIDS and Syphilis in Children (2018 – 2022). This strategy aligns with the ‘Three Frees’ Framework and aims to make a final push towards the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis as well as an end to paediatric AIDS.

This Plan has been designed to ensure that every child is born and remains HIV and syphillis free, and that every pregnant woman or mother living with HIV have access to lifelong HIV treatment. In addition, every child and adolescent living with HIV should be linked to quality HIV treatment, care and support to realize their full potential without stigma and discrimination.

Many millions of people around the world are affected by emergencies, the majority of whom are women and children. Among them are many who are known to be living with HIV and others who may not know their HIV status.

The purpose of this document is to provide operational guidance on HIV and infant feeding in emergencies. It is intended to be used to complement emergency and sectoral guidelines on health, nutrition and HIV, including specifically infant feeding, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and paediatric antiretroviral treatment.

The envisaged target audience consists of decision makers, policymakers, national and subnational government managers and planners, managers of refugee camps and similar settlements for displaced persons, and managers and planners in United Nations agencies, nongovernmental organizations and other groups responding to humanitarian situations.

This operational guidance is based on a consultation convened by the WHO, UNICEF and the Emergency Nutrition Network in Geneva in September 2016, which brought together a cross-section of senior-level participants from United Nations agencies, government, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and other agencies working in nutrition and HIV in emergencies. This document sets out basic principles related to HIV and infant feeding in emergency settings, and the actions that government and other stakeholders can take to prepare for emergencies.

The report summarizes how UNICEF and its partners contributed to the global HIV and AIDS response in 2017 and reviews the impact of these accomplishments on children and the communities where they live. This is one of nine reports on the results of efforts during the past year, encompassing gender equality and humanitarian action as well as each of the seven Strategic Plan outcome areas – health, HIV and AIDS, WASH, nutrition, education, child protection and social inclusion. It complements the 2017 Executive Director Annual Report (EDAR), UNICEF’s official accountability document for the past year.