10:02, 13 March 2017, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency, by Anastasia MOKRENKO
All children with HIV in Kyrgyzstan to receive treatment by end of year
10:02, 13 March 2017, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency, by Anastasia MOKRENKO
By the end of 2017, all children and teenagers with HIV in Kyrgyzstan will receive antiretroviral treatment, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Kyrgyzstan reported.
According to it, measures to improve the health of HIV-infected children and early diagnosis will take place throughout the country from March to December. The activities are funded by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS) with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation through its program for the prevention and control of HIV and other infectious diseases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
In Kyrgyzstan, 717 children and teenagers with this diagnosis were registered in January 2017, 417 of them receive antiretroviral treatment. Every year, from 70 to 80 newborns are born by HIV-infected mothers.
The modern method of diagnosing HIV with a dry drop of blood helps to start treatment of children as early as possible, thereby giving them a chance and the right to health and life.
Teenagers and children living with HIV are at risk of spreading the virus. Over 90 percent of such children were identified in 2007 are unaware of their status and don’t receive qualified psychosocial support. Only 19.8 percent of women aged 15–24 have comprehensive knowledge about HIV (correctly identify ways of preventing the transmission of sexual infections).
