MSF reaching HIV-positive kids, despite treatment hurdles

The international relief agency, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), is successfully treating an increasing number of HIV-positive children, despite huge gaps in paediatric diagnostic tools and drug formulas.

According to Dr Felipe Garcia de la Vega, paediatrician and AIDS specialist with MSF's Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, doctors and caregivers crush or break adult tablets in pieces to achieve suitable dosages for growing HIV-positive children.

In recent statement Garcia de la Vega commented: "We are obliged to find creative solutions when administering treatment to children. Despite the challenges, more children must be given antiretroviral treatment ... it is a responsibility we and other medical professionals cannot avoid."

An estimated 6 percent of the 40,000 people receiving antiretroviral treatment from MSF across the globe are children.