Moving from preventing HIV/AIDS in its infancy to preventing family illness and death (PFID).
In April 2007, UNAIDS released Securing the future--advocating for children, a call for the global community to recognize that "children still remain largely absent from national and international political responses to the AIDS pandemic". Most efforts to date to protect children from HIV have focused on prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs. Though expanding PMTCT programs, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, are crucial, even widespread PMTCT programs would still be grossly inadequate for achieving the goal of protecting children from HIV/AIDS. The global community needs to fundamentally reframe its approach to HIV prevention to fully address the health of families, otherwise the future for at-risk children is likely to remain bleak. After identifying challenges with current approaches, we review recent research that provides insights into ways prevention programs may be adapted to better protect families and children from the devastating consequences of HIV/AIDS. Only by protecting families from HIV/AIDS will we be able to achieve the goal of an AIDS-free generation.
Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, Department of Political Science, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
S Jody
SJ
Heymann
Shelley
S
Clark
Timothy F
TF
Brewer
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D014480:United Nations