New York, October 25, 2005 (The Earth Times) – The United Nations (UN) has announced the launch of a worldwide campaign, called Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS, to bring the plight of children victimized by AIDS to the attention of the world and to provide them relief against the dreaded disease.

Calling children the 'invisible face' of AIDS and HIV, UNICEF's executive director Ann Veneman said, “It is critical that the world unite for children and unite against AIDS. The size of the problem is staggering, but the scale of the response has been inadequate.”

She added that as a result of neglect, millions of children, especially in sub-Saharan Africa , the hardest hit nation, are losing out on their childhood. If AIDS is not curbed, the Millennium Development Goals would suffer a major setback and by 2010, 18 million children would have lost at least one parent to the disease in sub-Saharan Africa .

“In the past quarter-century, HIV/AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 20 million people and lowered average life expectancy in the hardest-hit countries by as much as 30 years. A whole generation has never known a world free of HIV and AIDS, yet the magnitude of the problem dwarfs the scale of the response so far,” she added.

The 10-year campaign would be launch on Tuesday simultaneously in Australia , Brazil , Djibouti , El Salvador , India , Mozambique , the Netherlands , Ireland , Trinidad and Tobago . It will adopt a four-pronged approach towards addressing the issue. These are preventing mother-to-child transmission, offering treatment to affected children, prevention of infection among those between the ages of 15 and 24 years, and protection and support of kids who have already fallen prey to AIDS.

“Nearly 25 years into the pandemic, help is reaching less than 10 per cent of the children affected by HIV/AIDS, leaving too many children to grow up alone, grow up too fast or not grow up at all. Simply put, AIDS is wreaking havoc on childhood,” said Kofi Annan, UN's secretary-general.

Statistics provided by UNICEF and UNAIDS have shown that one in every six AIDS-related death in the world involves a child under the age of 15. In addition, one of every seven individuals infected with the HIV virus is a child. So far, about 15 million children have lost at least one parent to the AIDS, a figure that is likely to grow to 18 million by 2010. A staggering 85 per cent of under-15 children in sub-Saharan Africa are battling the disease. The new campaign aims at reaching out to about 80 per cent of affected children in the area by 2010.

“AIDS continues to tear apart families and communities, leaving behind 15 million orphans and robbing countries of their future. If countries are to develop, we must put children first. Children must therefore be a major priority when it comes to the way we allocate and use resources,” said Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS. To fight the disease effectively, funds of around US$ 55 billion would be required over the next three years. The UN will try to enlist the support of NGOs, governments and corporate entities to help in the endeavor.

“The magnitude of the problems of children affected by HIV/AIDS dwarfs the scale of the existing response. Children and adolescents around the globe are increasingly at risk of infection, and many of those affected by HIV/AIDS are being left to grow up alone, grow up too soon, or to not grow up at all,” a report released by the UN on the issue said.

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