2024

UNICEF's AIDS 2024 Roadmaps outline conference and pre-conference sessions related to vertical transmission, children, adolescents and HIV, which will take place in connection with the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich, Germany, between 19-26 July, 2024. Access the full programme here.

In collaboration with WHO and UNAIDS, UNICEF is organizing the satellite session Connecting Data, Programmes, and Communities: The Global Alliance Roadmap to Ending AIDS in Children by 2030 on Monday 22 July, 11:30-13:00 CET.

For AIDS 2024, UNICEF has prepared a resource pack with a selection of UNICEF's global, regional and national knowledge products published since the last AIDS conference. A spreadsheet can be accessed below for an overview of all resources by topic, region and year of publication.

The report outlines the progress and achievements in the triple elimination of vertical transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) over the last two decades. The data mentorship programme aims to strengthen national health management information systems, improve data quality, and build the analytical skills of government staff working towards elimination. It employs a unique partnership model with the private sector, academia, and government officials, focusing on capacity building through virtual and in-person mentoring, online learning platforms, and workshops. The programme has shown early successes, with mentees from various countries implementing operational plans to improve data quality and analysis in their respective countries.

Empowered mentees are taking up leadership roles that directly support national programmes and 'Path to Elimination' validation processes. The geographical expansion of the programme and the continuous exposure of mentees to technical learning opportunities will further enhance each country’s preparedness towards the 'Path to Elimination' and validation. The design, approach and delivery of this programme can be used as a blueprint for building national and regional capacity, skills building, and mentorship. While this particular data mentorship programme focuses on vertical transmission and the Path to Elimination, the principles of data quality, data sources, collection and reporting, data visualisations, and data use remain consistent across healthcare programmes and can be applied more broadly to build data use capacity in maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and sexual and reproductive health.

This is the first report on progress towards the triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B virus (HBV) across 23 countries in the Middle East and North Africa/ Eastern Mediterranean (MENA/EM) region.

Countries included in this report: Algeria, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, State of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

To support countries in the region to achieve triple elimination goals, this report collects and assesses national policies and key indicators on EMTCT efforts against WHO criteria for validation of the EMTCT of HIV, syphilis and HBV. Based on analysis and consultations with national policymakers, the report provides a Road Map  for countries at different stages of readiness to follow towards triple elimination goals. The report also provides a set of recommendations for all countries to prioritize EMTCT policy and programming actions over the short, medium, and long term.

Despite global progress in HIV treatment for children, the gap between adult and paediatric treatment coverage continues to widen. This gap is driven primarily by barriers to HIV diagnosis in children, but in the past decade those barriers have shifted.

Scaling-up HIV case-finding efforts for children presents several challenges, including limited access to testing services, lack of provider preparedness to offer testing to children, stigma and discrimination, policy barriers related to age of consent, and inadequate health systems. The aim of this technical brief is to offer countries a guide to address these challenges and enhance HIV case-finding for children to improve testing coverage for children at risk for HIV. This technical brief focuses primarily on how programmes can identify those children who may have missed out on EID testing, who were never tested after breastfeeding or whose mothers were not enrolled in care.

This brief reviews existing resources and analyses potential bottlenecks for the processes in applying for EMTCT/Path to Elimination and to strengthen ongoing PMTCT programmes in such applications. Eight UNICEF priority countries were selected for the review: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

The Global Alliance Communication and Advocacy Strategy and Toolkit, developed in partnership with the Global Alliance Communication and Advocacy Team (GNP+, Y+ Global, ICW, UNAIDS, WHO) and other key stakeholders, provides comprehensive guidance to support the planning, development, and implementation of communication and advocacy initiatives at all levels—community, national, regional, and global. This Toolkit aims to secure ownership and commitment from Heads of State and Ministers in the 12 Global Alliance countries while advocating for investments to address inequalities affecting children, adolescents, and marginalized pregnant and breastfeeding women. It seeks to empower networks of women and children living with and affected by HIV, building their leadership capacity, strengthening advocacy and accountability mechanisms, and enabling them to influence policies and improve services. Furthermore, it emphasizes increasing the visibility and impact of the Global Alliance through strategic use of online and social platforms, fostering collaboration with communities, influencers, champions, senior UN leaders, and stakeholders. By inspiring meaningful action and mobilizing resources, the Toolkit drives impactful progress toward achieving the Global Alliance’s goal to End AIDS in Children by 2030.