Publication

Evidence suggests that the global financial downturn has already had a negative impact on HIV and AIDS service provision and funding and increased the vulnerabilities faced by those living with the infection or caring for infected family members (UNAIDS, 2009). To date, however, there has been no comprehensive review of the impacts of the crisis on children and caregivers in this situation. This is critical, given that the mortality rate among infected children is disproportionate to that faced by adults, and that relatively fewer children have access to necessary antiretroviral therapy (ART). Moreover, many governments lack national policy strategies to address the child-specific dimensions of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, and there is, therefore, a risk that children living with the disease or highly vulnerable to infection will remain invisible in the crisis unless they receive urgent policy attention.