Launched at AIDS2022, the EPIC initiative joins forces to highlight the urgent need to re-commit focus, resources, and action to end AIDS in children by 2030. EPIC is just the latest way Aidsfonds and GNP+ kept children on the agenda at the world’s largest gathering of HIV activists, scientists, and donors.
Under the umbrella of the EPIC, Aidsfonds and GNP+ collaborated on the following key events on paediatric HIV advocacy at the meeting:
- Global Village discussion – “The Promise of dolutegravir (pDTG): From Research to Clinical and Community Experiences”
The session was organised by GNP+ and Aidsfonds and focused on the experiences of transitioning children to pDTG with perspectives from the community, donors, clinicians, and programme managers. The talk centered on community voices, including parents, caregivers, and key populations. Facilitated by an implementer at SAfAIDS, the discussion was attended by Ministry of Health officials, donors, implementing partners, civil society, and women living with HIV. Together, participants identified key challenges, successes, and lessons learned from the pDTG roll-out in many African countries.
- Launch of the Global Alliance to End AIDS in Children by 2030
UNAIDS, UNICEF, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched the new Global Alliance for Ending AIDS in Children by 2030. The Alliance also includes GNP+, Global Network of Young People Living with HIV (Y+ Global) and the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW). The trio of networks is joined by Alliance partners, including Aidsfonds, other civil society organisations, governments of affected countries, and major donors like the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria.
The Global Alliance for Ending AIDS in Children by 2030 will mobilise leadership, funding, and action around four key pillars:
- Early testing and optimised comprehensive, high-quality treatment and care for infants, children and adolescents living with and exposed to HIV;
- Closing the treatment gap for pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV and optimising continuity of treatment;
- Preventing new HIV infections among pregnant and breastfeeding adolescents and women; and
- Addressing rights, gender equality, social / structural barriers that hinder access.
Twelve countries have joined the alliance in the first phase: Angola, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari, alongside UNAIDS, UNICEF and the WHO, is expected to host African heads of state to discuss the Alliance before the end of the year.
Read more about the Global Alliance here.
