Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières -MSF) have called for AIDS syrup drugs in treatment of infected children. In a paper presented two weeks ago at the AIDS Summit in Mexico, MSF exposed the formidable challenges HIV infected children face worldwide. The body stressed that infant AIDS patients less than 12 months of age are much less likely to survive, showing the critical need for earlier access to fair treatment. “Without fair treatment, half of the children born with AIDS will die before they reach their second birthday,” Dr. Fernando Parreno, a pediatrician for MSF in Zimbabwe, was quoted by the summit press release. Parreno advised that it is imperative that all children are diagnosed and treat as early as possible after diagnosis, if not, many of them will continue to die. MSF called for an urgent need of pediatric adapted drug fixed dose combinations, and context appropriate adherence strategies. The release said that MSF Pharmacist Coordinator, Karen Day, informed the summit that research into pediatric formulations is not a priority for pharmaceutical companies. She noted that the drugs available are ill-adapted for use in resource limited settings of powders that need water to be mixed. Her concern was seconded Wednesday by Dr. Joseph Mucumbitsi, a Rwandan pediatrician at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali. Mucumbitsi confirmed the lack of AIDS syrups especially those that are sweet-tasting for children who can’t take powdered therapies or Antiretroviral (ARV) tablets. The summit release also quoted Dr. Helena Huerga of MSF Kenya as saying,“Medicines alone are not enough to keep children living with HIV/AIDS alive.” Huerga urged that children and their care givers need to receive psycho-social support along with their treatment and care, as they grow older into adolescence and beyond. Ends
