Unite for children, Unite against AIDS.

Every 15 seconds, somewhere in the world, a child is infected with HIV. Despite recent advances in treating the virus, millions of people, especially women, are still denied access to medication to stop what Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called "the most heart-wrenching form of transmission: mother to child". In addition to those infected, there are an estimated 15 million children worldwide who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.

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The new campaign of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), "Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS", hopes to focus global attention on the devastating impact that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has had on children. Ann Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director, in launching the campaign at UN Headquarters in New York on 25 October 2005, described what AIDS means to the youngest generation. "It is a disease that has redefined their childhoods, causing them to grow up too fast, or sadly not at all." In the worst-affected countries, where life expectancy has plummeted from the mid-60s to the early-30s, turning 18 no longer means reaching adulthood, but rather middle-age. A global campaign designed to strengthen the commitment to the fight against AIDS is crucial, explained Ms. Veneman, because "the scale of this problem is staggering, but the world has been largely unresponsive".

"Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS" aims to prevent mother-to-child transmission, provide paediatric treatment, prevent infection among adolescents and young people, and protect and support children affected by HIV/AIDS. It also provides a platform for urgent and sustained programmes, advocacy and fund-raising to limit the impact of the disease on children and help halt its spread.

Stories of young people who have grown up in the midst of the AIDS pandemic illustrate why education to prevent transmission and break down the stigma associated with the disease is so important. Fria Chia Iskandar described what it was like to be diagnosed with HIV as a teenager growing up in Indonesia. "I was treated like a monster in my own home; it was a painful experience. My parents didn't mean to be cruel, they just didn't know any better", she said. Now 23 years old and co-chair of the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, Ms. Iskandar works to break down the stigma that creates an added burden for those infected with the virus. "Young people are afraid to get tested and are afraid to disclose their status to doctors who may refuse to treat them", she added.

AIDS peer educator Livey van Wyk of Namibia had a similar experience when she was diagnosed as an HIV-positive at 17. Banished by her mother to her grandmother's farm, local people did not want her living among them and would throw stones at her. She described the fight against AIDS as "an uphill battle when stigma and discrimination rule". Young people were "made to feel as if HIV is a punishment for bad behaviour", she said, making it even more difficult for those infected to deal with the disease.

The UNICEF campaign presents an opportunity for real progress to be made through action across a variety of fronts. Some 25 years since the threat of AIDS first emerged, the world is faced with the urgent task of reversing the spread of the virus before the situation becomes even worse. "We have been slow to act and what we have done has not been enough", said Jeanette Kagame, First Lady of Rwanda. "We must take a united action now", because "the disease will not wait for us to catch up".

For more information about the campaign, visit www.unicef.org/uniteforchildren/index.html

RELATED ARTICLE

* Less than 10 per cent of children orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS receive any support;

* Less than 10 per cent of pregnant women are offered services to prevent HIV transmission to their infants;

* Less than 5 per cent of young HIV-positive children in need of treatment are receiving it.

RELATED ARTICLE: UNICEF campaign goals, by 2010:

** Reduce the percentage of young people living with HIV/AIDS by 25 per cent globally;

** Offer appropriate services to 80 per cent of women needing them to prevent mother-to-child transmission;

** Provide paediatric AIDS treatment to 80 per cent of children in need; and

** Reach 80 per cent of children most affected and in need of protection and support.