Treatment now Available for Children Infected with HIV in Shanxi Province“I asked dad why all the other children are going to school and I'm not. Dad said I always get sick. When I get better I can go to school.” This little boy is Pengpeng (not his real name), a 10-year-old living in Shanxi province. When he is not sick, he is always smiling and playing. Ten years ago, Pengpeng was infected with HIV at birth from a contaminated blood transfusion. His mother already died of AIDS and his father is now taking care of him,as well as his older brother and grandma. The virus is already taking a toll of his health. Due to HIV infection, Pengpeng often gets a fever diarrhea or a skin rash, and he is much smaller than other boys of the same age in the village. His father frequently takes him on a train ride back and forth the infectious disease hospital in town. Pengpeng’s poor health is keeping him out of school – most of the time he stays at home, staring at an old and blurry black-and-white TV.. At the beginning of 2006, withsupport from UNICEF and other international organizations, the central and local government started paediatric treatment in Shanxi Province in Shanxi for children like Pengpeng, helping families with sick children to learn how to provide better care. Yhanks to paediatric formulations of anti-retroviral treatment and support to communities and families, children infected with HIV now have a chance to live longer, prevent infections and get a chance to go to school just like other children.
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