Mexico City, Mexico (August 3, 2008) - As thousands of people dedicated to ending the global AIDS crisis meet today in Mexico City for the XVII International AIDS Conference, Save the Children is calling for greater attention on and more assistance to children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Programs that support and care for orphaned and vulnerable children are not prioritized enough by donors, according to the agency. However, assistance for paediatric care, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, HIV prevention education and support for children affected by the disease is key to reducing the incidence of new infections and giving children in AIDS-affected communities hope for their future.

"We know that children and young teens are least likely to be infected with HIV while youth ages 15-24 account for the majority of new infections," said Tonya Nyagiro, Save the Children's HIV and AIDS Advocate. "The care and protection of these vulnerable children and young people is both a humanitarian imperative and a key to helping them defend against the disease."

Tonya Nyagiro continued: "Yet consistently, in the 120 countries where Save the Children works, programs for children affected by HIV remain underfunded. Too many children who should be receiving medical treatment, help with school fees, support while they care for their sick parents or prevention information do not because too little money is dedicated to helping them."

Save the Children is providing quality care and support to children and women affected or infected by HIV and AIDS, specifically public education that addresses gender and stigma-related obstacles, improved follow-up care of HIV-exposed newborns and their mothers, early identification of children who are HIV-positive, and maternal and newborn health and nutrition interventions. Save the Children also is helping to reduce new HIV infections by providing and advocating for reproductive health education and services and behavior change programs for youth (both in and out of school), expectant mothers, and others at high risk of infection.

Children and young adults are the most vulnerable members of communities affected by HIV and AIDS. Save the Children advises that they could be better protected through:

• Improved access to HIV prevention information, treatment, care and support.
• Increased donor commitments, specifically for children affected by HIV and AIDS. Children and their caregivers need to be able to rely on sustained social protection systems that balance the provision of basic services with investments in community capacity to care for and protect children affected by HIV.
• More programs supported by the Global Fund which have a demonstrated benefit to children affected by HIV, malaria and tuberculosis in addition to funding expansion of national health systems. This expansion is necessary to find, diagnose, and treat children with HIV and AIDS more quickly.
• International donors and governments following through on their promise of providing 80 percent prevention and treatment coverage to help expectant and new moms reduce the risk of transmitting the HIV virus to their newborn baby (as agreed in the Call to Action Goals set for 2010 in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS) and for a new Global Initiative scale-up of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and HIV treatment coverage for children to reach this 80 percent target in the 15 worst-affected countries in Africa and Asia by 2010.
• Accessible and affordable health services that provide information and services on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention and support, so young people can make healthy choices and decrease their risk of infection.                                                          

Notes to Editors

• AIDS 2008 will be held in Mexico City from August 3-8, 2008. For full conference information visit http://www.aids2008.org/. The conference theme of Universal Action Now emphasizes the need for continued urgency in the worldwide response to HIV/AIDS, and for action on the part of all stakeholders.
• The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities. To find out more, visit the Global Fund's website: http://www.theglobalfund.org/
• The International Save the Children Alliance works with children to find long-term solutions to the problems they face. For more on our work, please visit http://www.savethechildren.net/