Facts Regarding HIV
Positive Children

¤  By 2003 15 million children under 18 had been orphaned by HIV/AIDS worldwide. About 12 million of these live in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is expected that this number will have risen to more than 18 million by 2010. (Ref.)

¤  In 2003 there were an estimated 1,100,000 (1.1 million) Aids orphans in South Africa. (Ref.)

¤  10-12 percent of infants with HIV will die in their first year

¤  73 percent of HIV children live to the age of five

¤  50 percent of babies with full-blown AIDS live beyond 18 months

¤  30 percent of babies with full-blown AIDS live beyond the age of four

¤  A Child's survival rate depends on the amount of care and nurturing it receives

¤  AIDS in babies under 18 months can be difficult to confirm as blood tests are often confused by the presence of the mother's own antibodies after birth

¤  All babies born of infected mothers will test positive for around 12 months, whether carrying the disease or not

¤  HIV-positive children are especially vulnerable to infection and are prone to ear and chest infections, skin rashes, pneumonia, unexplained fevers and deterioration of the brain. They often fail to thrive and are small for their age

¤  Many HIV-positive babies have a low birth weight and often get sick before they are three months old. They need hospitalization from around six months and die before the age of one year

¤  On death certificates, cause of death may be reported as some other ailment and not as AIDS. This distorts statistics on the number of AIDS-related child deaths. (Bangkok Post, 8 August 1996)