These are some of the pills that HIV-positive children are expected to swallow – up to 20 or
more pills a day – when they do not have access to fixed-dose combination medications that
could be administered in just one dose per day.
A well-known AIDS researcher, Dr. Julio Montaner, affirms the goal of Caritas Internationalis “HAART for Children Campaign,” which began in 2009 to promote early diagnosis and treatment of mothers and children living with HIV infection
Dr. Julio Montaner is the director of the Saint Paul’s Hospital/British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Although he has concentrated most of his research and clinical practice on adults with HIV, he pioneered universal access to life-saving Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Treatment (HAART) for all people living with HIV, no matter how recent or advanced their infection might be.
Dr. Montaner served as the inspiration for Caritas’ own “HAART for Children” campaign. He said that “the only way to begin to conceive an end to this pandemic is if we ensure that there is global, universal access to antiretroviral therapy and related services.” Dr. Montaner spoke with Francesca Merico, volunteer Coordinator of the Caritas “HAART for Children Campaign” for the latest, July 2015 issue of the Campaign Newsletter. He further affirmed,“There should be no doubt in our mind that paediatric HIV should be a top priority.”
The Newsletter also includes an update on “child friendly” formulations and dosages of medicines to improve the quality of life and to prevent serious illness for HIV-positive children as well as testimony of treatment successes in a Catholic Church-related HIV service programme in one of the largest slums in Nairobi.