Programme

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that social protection can reduce the risk of HIV infection and poor treatment outcomes by addressing some of the key drivers of HIV among children, adolescents and women, such as poverty, gender inequality, and lack of access to education or ability to stay in school.  

Access to diagnostics to determine HIV infection is one of the major bottlenecks to timely treatment initiation in children and adults. Diagnostics for CD4 staging and monitoring, early infant diagnosis (EID) and viral load (VL) screening to monitor viral suppression have been historically offered using complex technologies, requiring test results to be sent away to central laboratories. Some HIV positive clients can wait for weeks or even months to receive test samples, contributing to loss to follow-up and causing delays that can have serious short-term and long-term impacts.

In 2023, an estimated 1.37 million children aged 0–14 years were living with HIV globally, yet a staggering 43% of these children—over half a million—were unable to access life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART). This alarming figure not only highlights a significant gap in our healthcare systems but also falls dramatically short of the 2030 target of achieving 95% ART coverage among children living with HIV. The consequences of this inadequate access to treatment are dire.