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UGANDA: UN highlights children's poor access to AIDS drugs

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

JOHANNEBURG, 8 March (PLUSNEWS) - The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has expressed concern over the low availability of anti-AIDS treatments for children in Uganda.

At the recent Eastern and Southern African Region Education Conference in the capital, Kampala, UNICEF resident representative Martin Mogwanja decried that fact that HIV-positive children were being forgotten, while adult treatments were on the increase.

Mogwanja told a local newspaper, The Monitor, that "UNICEF is more concerned about the issue of HIV/AIDS, especially the care and support of children. It is sad to note that of all those living positively with HIV in Uganda, the majority who have access to drugs are adults."

Youngsters are estimated to make up at least 10 percent of Uganda's one million HIV-positive people.

[ENDS]

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