Prescription for Life: Take action to help children living with HIV

Promoting Communication for Social Change

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The vast majority of children living with HIV around the world lack access to HIV testing and treatment. The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), in collaboration with partners around the world, are embarking on a year-long action with governments, pharmaceutical companies and media to improve access to medicines for children with HIV.

With respect to this initiative, the EAA has produced a new action guide which encourages young people to take the lead in calling for improvements in testing and treatment for infants and children living with HIV. "Prescription for Life" provides information and resources for schools, families, faith groups and communities to empower young people to write letters to pharmaceutical companies and governments, and promote the issue through the media.

Young people, especially aged 11-16, are encouraged to write letters to governments and pharmaceutical companies asking them to improve the treatment and services available to children living with HIV. Ideas are also given for students and youth groups to raise awareness of these issues in local newspapers and other media.

It is estimated that 2.1 million children, aged under 15, are living with HIV. Yet children remain largely forgotten in global and national efforts to address HIV and AIDS. This is especially the case for children’s access to diagnostic testing for HIV and antiretrovirals (ARVs). Currently, only 15 percent of children in need of HIV treatment have access to it. The lack of testing and treatment is particularly severe in Sub-Saharan Africa.

When children living with HIV do not get appropriate treatment, they suffer and die faster than adults living with the virus. Despite evidence that HIV treatment is very successful in children, more than 900 children die of AIDS-related illnesses every day. Letters generated from this year-long action will be used to keep governments accountable to commitments made in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and also used in focused advocacy with pharmaceutical companies by EAA participants.

The EAA plans to display copies of young people’s letters at the United Nations on the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which will be celebrated on Universal Children’s Day - 20 November 2009.

For more information, visit the EAA website.

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WACC promotes communication for social change. It believes that communication is a basic human right that defines people's common humanity, strengthens cultures, enables participation, creates community and challenges tyranny and oppression.

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