MSF Frontline Reports podcast Ep. 70 - Giving Children with HIV the Support They Need

MSF began treating adults living with HIV in developing countries in the 1990s. Ten years ago - in December of 2000 -- MSF teams also began treating children with antiretrovirals, or ARVs. Over the past decade, however, there has been little, or no, progress in key areas such as developing diagnostics for children under 18 months or creating medicines better adapted for children. In addition to these urgent medical needs, another side of providing care to child patients has been neglected as well. That's patient support -- it's a combination of mental health care, education about the disease, and help to get basic needs met, so the patient understands his disease, has what he needs to fight it, and will continue to fight it for the rest of his life. For children, this kind of support is crucial and it needs to be specific to each individual.

Welcome to the November 30th, 2010, MSF Frontline Reports podcast. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, is an independent medical humanitarian aid organization.

For more information on this story and to learn more about MSF or Doctors Without Borders, please visit msf.org to find the MSF web site in your home country. You can read the entire Eneza Ujumbe at doctorswithoutborders.org. Please send any comments and questions for the podcast to [email protected]. MSF is an independent medical humanitarian aid organization that delivers emergency assistance to people affected by wars, epidemics, and natural or man-made disasters in more than 60 countries around the world.