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The US-based Baylor International Paediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) this week said the number one barrier to the treatment of HIV-positive children in Africa is the lack of suitably trained healthcare professionals.
Addressing the World Health Summit in New York on Tuesday, BIPAI director Dr. Mark Kline, said his organisation would help remedy the situation by dispatching 250 paediatric HIV specialists to the continent.
"In Lesotho there are just three paediatricians and Malawi has 13. We will be placing 8 or ten paediatricians in each of these countries through the Paediatric AIDS Corps," said Kline.
The 4-month-old initiative is expected to assist 80,000 HIV-positive children and their family members in six African countries over the next five years.
According to Kline, an estimated 1.9 million of the world's 2.2 million children living with HIV/AID are currently housed in Africa.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions