Background
There were an estimated 2.5 million children living with HIV/AIDS in 2003 and an estimated 700,000 newly infected children under the age of 15 that same year. Almost 90% of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa. Although children represent about six percent of the global epidemic, they account for 17% of the deaths due to HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, 50% of children with HIV/AIDS die before the age of two. This is in part due to a lack of technologies for early infant diagnosis and lack of availability of pediatric formulations of antiretroviral therapies in the resource-limited setting.
Objectives:
1. To bring together a group of experts with interest in infant diagnosis and monitoring for use in resource limited settings.
2. Provide a scientific forum to facilitate the exchange of information on HIV infant diagnosis and pediatric treatment monitoring; the identification of gaps in knowledge and research to address these gaps . This will be accomplished by activities including workshops, website, quarterly updates on articles and abstracts and working group conference calls.
3. Use Working Group and Forum for Collaborative HIV Research activities to help catalyze and jump start development on infant HIV diagnosis and antiretroviral treatment monitoring tools.
Support and foster collaborative operational projects on infant diagnosis and monitoring for use in resource limited settings.
Status:
The first Working Group meeting was held on February 9th, 2006 in Denver, CO. A meeting report will be avilable shortly.
The Planning Committee for this project includes:
Ben Cheng - Forum for Collaborative HIV Research, USA
Siobhan Crowley - WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
Tom Denny - UMDNJ, USA (co-chair)
Mary Glenn Fowler - Johns Hopkins University, Uganda (co-chair)
Susan Fiscus - UNC Chapel Hill, USA
Katrien Fransen - Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium
Veronica Miller - Forum for Collaborative HIV Research, USA
Lynne Mofenson - NICHD, NIH, USA
Richard Respess - CDC, USA
Molly Rivadeneira - CDC, USA
Jeff Safrit - Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, USA
Gayle Sherman - NHLS, South Africa
