RIATT-ESA and all its members welcome the Global Alliance because it is widely recognized that the global HIV response is failing to meet the needs of children
Beyond the ratifications of international and regional child rights instruments, as well as promulgation of impeccable laws, realization of children’s rights will not be actualized until adequate public resources are availed.
Eleven SADC Member States are among the 27 countries that are estimated to account for 80% of all children living with HIV worldwide. HIV infection in children is predominantly a result of mother-to-child transmission of the virus, and is an underlying factor in many infant and childhood illnesses and deaths in the region.
These Minimum Standards are intended to strengthen child and adolescent-specific policies and programmatic frameworks in HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria, to guide the integration of HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria services/ programmes within PHC and with basic child care services, and to facilitate harmonisation across Member States.
