Overview
Throughout the world, HIV and AIDS is redefining the very meaning of childhood, depriving children and young people of the care, love and protection of their parents, of education and options for the future, and of protection against exploitation and abuse. The Pacific region is not spared, but it is currently in the advantageous position of being able to learn from 25 years of global experience in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The HIV epidemic has undergone a sharp increase in the Pacific and the potential for exponential growth is unquestioned. There are several reasons underlying the assumption that the HIV epidemic will spread further: ongoing political, social and economic changes; high population mobility; the emergence of new patterns of sexual behaviours; increase in substance abuse; increase in the number of commercial sex workers, all combined with a lack of health and sex education. Furthermore, there is an alarming increase in Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and unwanted teenage pregnancies, which constitutes a telling warning in terms of a future increase in sexual transmission of HIV. Several factors in the sub-region lead to a high risk with regard to the spread of HIV and AIDS through unsafe sexual practices: low condom use/access, low status of women, decreasing adherence to traditional values, denial and taboos around sexuality, as well as stigma and discrimination of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). All these trends point to a rapid increase in the number of HIV/AIDS/STI cases if urgent action is not taken. In the Pacific, as in other parts of the world, children are the missing face of AIDS, and failure to take account of their critical needs for prevention, protection, treatment and care will acutely undermine the region’s chance of achieving other development objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals. While it is generally accepted that HIV prevalence in Pacific Island Countries remains low, preliminary data from the recent second generation surveillance exercise calls for a rapid scaling up of interventions¹. In fact, with nearly two-thirds of the new HIV cases aged between 20 and 35 and perinatal transmission accounting for nearly 5 per cent of all cases, a “business as usual” approach can no longer be applied. Urgent actions are required both at country and regional levels to scale up prevention, care and support of children and young adults affected and infected by HIV. Changing lifestyles provide opportunities for a gradual encroachment of HIV and AIDS among younger populations, and increasingly among young women. Many young Pacific Islanders are increasingly exposing themselves to the risk of HIV by having unprotected sex and multiple sex partners. Yet, many young Pacific Islanders continue to have limited access to health information, as well as the necessary skills and services to protect themselves from HIV. Although knowledge alone is insufficient to ensure behavior change, the lack of access to correct information and understanding about HIV and AIDS are still obstacles to prevention. Young people can be the key to controlling the epidemic provided that they have the knowledge, skills and services to protect themselves from an early age. We know that early adolescence and puberty, from the ages of 10 to 14, brings physical and emotional changes that strengthen sexual feelings. It is also a time when enduring patterns of healthy behaviour can be established and imparting knowledge and skills should be undertaken in the context of children’s and young people’s evolving capacities. ¹Data are still being analysed, report should be finalized in 2006.
Pacific Children and HIV/AIDS Fact Sheets
Situation Review:
Situation Review: |
