Govt improves paediatric HIV treatment

ZIMBABWE has taken significant steps to identify and scale up treatment of children living with HIV by rolling out the child-friendly Dolutegravir (DTG)-based antiretroviral (ARV) formulations.

Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Douglas Mombeshora said the decision to prioritise paediatric HIV treatment comes after data from 2022 revealed that only 69 percent of children living with HIV in Zimbabwe were on antiretroviral treatment, compared to 95 percent of adults.

Dr Mombeshora said following the interventions, over 87 percent of children are now on the child-friendly ARV formulations.

“To increase the third 95 of UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, Zimbabwe is supporting peer support mechanisms, including the use of networks for people living with HIV (PLHIV), to keep children on treatment to achieve viral suppression.

“To date, we have rolled out childfriendly (ARV) formulations, with more than 87 percent of children now on DTGbased formulations and our target is to reach 98 percent by the end of this year, 2023, a target which is attainable,” he said.

Dr Mombeshora said to address treatment disparities, his ministry had activated the Global Alliance country work plan, which was presented at a high-level meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, recently.

The Global Alliance, in partnership with UNICEF, the World Health Organisation, UNAIDS, funding partners and civil society organisations — including networks of PLHIV — have provided full funding and accelerated implementation.

“We recently convened a meeting of the Global Alliance country team to take stock of progress on the implementation of the Global Alliance work plan.

“My ministry has been progressing in moving from dual elimination of motherto-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, to triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and the hepatitis B virus,” he added.

Zimbabwe launched its Triple EMTCT (elimination of mother-to-child transmission) plan early this month.

Local health expert and paediatrician Dr Lawson Chakoreva commended Government’s efforts.

“By utilising child-friendly ARV formulations and implementing community-based strategies, Zimbabwe aims to ensure that a higher percentage of children living with HIV receive the treatment they need, ultimately contributing to the goal of ending AIDS in children by 2030,” he said.