40% of child deaths Aids-related
2005-11-29 15:32
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned governments against using the economic crisis as an excuse to cut funding for fighting Aids.
Cape Town - HIV/Aids is the leading cause of death of South African children under the age of five.
Diseases of poverty account for a further 30% of deaths in this age group, the Children's Institute (CI) has said.
The HIV/Aids pandemic is first among a number of factors that are standing in the way of realising child rights in South Africa, and the country needs a comprehensive response to children infected and affected by the disease.
This is the message from the Children's Institute, as it launched a publication on the situation of South Africa's children to coincide with World Aids day on December 1.
This year's edition focuses on the theme of children and HIV/Aids. It is called the South African Child Gauge 2005.
"Forty percent of deaths of children under the age of five years are directly attributable to Aids and a further 30% to diseases of poverty," said Professor Marian Jacobs, director of the CI.
"The second major obstacle to the realisation of child rights is the ongoing income inequality and widespread poverty that continue in the country.
"The unemployment rate is rising alongside the HIV infection rate and this is of great concern, because poverty deepens the effects of HIV/Aids on households, while the disease in turn aggravates already existing poverty," she added.
For more on this story go to Health24.com.
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