PARENTS DENY HIV POSITIVE CHILDREN TREATMENT
Aug 19th, 2009 by admin
In Burkina Faso, the health authorities estimate less than 25 per cent of HIV-infected children are receiving treatment due to a lack of parental consent. According to the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, in 2006 approximately 4,600 children were in need of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. The government says only 46 per cent of people requiring ARVs as of June this year were receiving treatment. Medical staff say many parents are reluctant to have their children tested because they consider HIV to be a sexually transmitted disease. Experts say the population needs to be educated that both adults and children can be infected by HIV.