“Our country can no longer tolerate children being born and growing up with HIV, when tools exist to prevent, detect and effectively treat this infection,” President Félix Tshisekedi declared at a recent government conference in the south-eastern Lualaba province, as he launched the five-year initiative.

Backed by an initial commitment of $18 million in national funds, the Presidential Initiative to End Pediatric AIDS will focus on political leadership, systems strengthening and inclusive healthcare access particularly for children, adolescents, and pregnant women.

It also aligns well with DRC’s global commitments under the Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all.

Children lagging behind

The initiative marks a renewed commitment by the DRC to address children’s extremely limited access to HIV prevention and treatment services.

While the DRC has made notable strides in adult HIV response – 91 per cent of adults living with HIV now have access to antiretroviral treatment – children continue to lag far behind.

Only 44 per cent of children living with HIV in the country currently receive lifesaving treatment, a figure that has remained unchanged for over a decade.

Every year, thousands of Congolese children are still infected, often due to a lack of screening among pregnant women, depriving the health system of a crucial opportunity to prevent mother-to-child transmission as well as saving the mother’s live.

“The eradication of paediatric AIDS is a moral imperative, an imperative of social justice and an indicator of dignity,” Mr. Tshisekedi said.

Four core priorities

The Presidential Initiative targets four core areas:

• Improving early detection and treatment of HIV for children, adolescents and pregnant women
• Preventing new infections in children, adolescents and mothers
• Guarantee systematic and immediate treatment for those diagnosed
• Remove structural barriers hindering young people’s access to health services

A breath of fresh air

The UN Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) praised the initiative as an example of the national leadership needed to close critical gaps in global HIV response.

Susan Kasedde, UNAIDS Country Director in the DRC, commended the initiative as “a breath of fresh air” at a time when global development financing is under strain.

“At a time when development financing is experiencing turbulence and risk jeopardizing the systems that support the most vulnerable, President Tshisekedi’s leadership initiative is a beacon of hope,” she said.

According to UNAIDS, recent funding cuts are threatening critical HIV services, with stock of medication and condoms feared to run out within months. Key areas like antenatal testing, paediatric treatment and data quality monitoring have also been impacted.