Public Healthcare Strategies for HIV/AIDS Prevention in Children

This report examines the impact of HIV/AIDS on children's health, highlighting the disproportionate burden on this vulnerable population, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. It addresses the physiological impacts of HIV/AIDS on children, including weakened immunity and malnutrition, as well as the associated social and economic consequences such as family disintegration and limited access to education. The report discusses global initiatives by organizations like WHO, including antiretroviral therapy and prevention of mother-to-child transmission through strategies like avoiding breastfeeding and administering nevirapine. It acknowledges the challenges in implementing these strategies, particularly in developing countries, due to societal stigma and lack of resources. The report also proposes interventions such as financial aid to improve access to treatment, educational programs to train healthcare personnel, and community-based health promotion to increase health literacy. Furthermore, the report advocates for addressing water and food contamination to prevent infectious diseases that exacerbate HIV/AIDS symptoms in children. It emphasizes the importance of eradicating stereotypes associated with breastfeeding avoidance and providing affordable formula feeding resources to support maternal and child health.

Running head: PUBLIC HEALTHCARE: HIV AIDS
PUBLIC HEALTHCARE: HIV/AIDS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
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1PUBLIC HEALTHCARE: HIV/AIDS
Question 1
As observed in the book, ‘Maternal and Child Health’, the sensitive population group of
children are required to be prioritized during HIV/AIDS treatment considering that this disease
comprises of one of the leading causative factors for the mortality of 11.4 children on a
worldwide. HIV/AIDS is also one of the major causes of a total of 90% of deaths among
children, amounting to over 30, 000 deaths in countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Further,
HIV/AIDS prevention among children also must be well prioritized across nations as well as
across the global due to its detrimental impacts on the lives of such a young population as noted
in the book, ‘Maternal and Child Health’ (Hoosen & Nigel, 2010). Occurrence of HIV/AIDS
negatively impacts the child by exerting physiological hindrances on the immunity resulting in
increased susceptibility to diseases along with reduced nutrient absorption, that is malnutrition.
Lack of treatment not only results in decreased wellbeing but also loss of family identity,
homelessness and identity, due to death of the child’s family members (Mary et al., 2017).
Further, detrimental health due to HIV also exerts hindrances on the child’s ability to engage in
required educational and future occupational activities. Associated lack of medical resources and
high financial costs may further force families inflicted with HIV/AIDS to undertake untimely
migrations and residence dislocation (Goldberg & Short, 2016). Global pediatric initiatives to
tackle HIV/AIDS among children include the World Health Organization’s (WHO) initiatives
such as avoidance of breastfeeding, antiretroviral therapy and administration of drug treatment
such as zidovudine (Chi et al., 2018). Additional global as well as WHO initiatives include
prevention of transmission of HIV to the infant from the mother, which comprise of
administration of a single dose of nevirapine during maternal labor as well to the child
immediately after birth, along with dissemination of sexual health education to prevent
unplanned pregnancies and unsafe sexual intercourse – one of the key determinants of
HIV/AIDS transmission among children (Hoosen & Nigel, 2010). Additionally preventive
measures provided by health organizations at the national as well as at the community levels
include provision of abortion facilities to terminate pregnancies among HIV inflicted women,
nutritional and social support strategies specific to the needs of HIV afflicted children,
availability of financially feasibility referral services to offer specialized multidisciplinary

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treatment and antiretroviral therapy and manageable costs and educational dissemination on
procedures of family planning and engagement in safe sexual practices (Lolekha, 2016).
Question 2
Total prevention of breastfeeding, as noted in the book, ‘Maternal and Child Health’, as
been implicated to be one of the most effective strategies of prevention of transmission of
HIV/AIDS infection, from mothers to their babies. However, the administration of this strategy
among disease afflicted communities continue to be filled with challenges and bottlenecks
especially in countries which are developing. These include a feelings of societal stigma
associated with the avoidance of breastfeeding coupled with lack of financially feasible formula
milk resources and shortcomings surrounding sterilized preparation and storage of alternative
formula milk. Further, such regions also possess high rates of pneumonia and diarrhea which are
a resultant of usage of contaminated water and food resources (Hoosen & Nigel, 2010). Such
unhygienic resources coupled with the inadequacy of the infant to digest solid food, serve as
hindrances to the preparation of hygienic formula feeds and administration of nutritious weaning
practices (Kharsany & Karim, 2016).
At present, less than 5% of children who are suffering from HIV/AIDS have adequate
accessibility to appropriate diagnosis and treatment due to inadequate funding, lack of clinical
resources and competent healthcare personnel (Hoosen & Nigel, 2010). Financial interventions
comprising of acquisition of funds through advocacy and financial assistance provided by
developed nations, international as well as non-profit organizations can enhance access to
pediatric treatment and testing since such financial resources can used to develop healthcare
organizations and provide accessibility to care procedures such as antiretroviral therapy in
regions afflicted with this disease (Goga et al., 2015). Additionally, education interventions can
be considered as beneficial since this will result in enhancement of a well-trained medically
sound workforce who are well-equipped to provide treatment pertaining to the complications
underlying HIV/AIDS (Zakary, Rachik & Elmouki, 2016). Additionally, health promotional
interventions can be administered by community based health organizations which would
include improvement of the public’s levels of health literacy concerning HIV, by disseminating
information and awareness on signs, symptoms, preventive methods and possible impacts if not

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considered (Abara et al., 2015). Further, considering the WHO guidelines on preventive
breastfeeding and replacement feeding, community and federal based interventions must
encompass eradication of stereotypes associated with avoidance of breastfeeding along with
provision of affordable formula feeding resources and information on nutritious weaning food
preparation (Mahat, Scoloveno & Scoloveno, 2016). Local governments must also intervene for
management of water and food contamination to further prevent infectious disease transmission
and aggravation of existing HIV/AID symptoms among children (Schneider et al., 2016).

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References
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