Pacific's children at risk as Aids spreads

Kayla Hamilton, 4, a UNICEF volunteer from Waiheke, greeted delegates with a dance. Kayla is pictured in front of a UNICEF HIV poster from Papua New Guinea. Picture / Paul Estcourt

Children are being overlooked in the spread of HIV/Aids in the Pacific, which is heading towards a generalised epidemic in the region, says Unicef New Zealand.

A global campaign was kick-started in Auckland yesterday to highlight the children who are increasingly bearing the brunt of the disease, the same day the Pan Pacific HIV/Aids conference opened in the city.

Unicef NZ executive director Dennis McKinlay said the disease was taking a stranglehold in the Pacific with a sharp increase in cases and potential for exponential growth.

Mr McKinlay said if nothing was done to reverse the current trends some Pacific Island nations and their unique cultures could be wiped out.

"The impact of an accelerated HIV infection rate in the South Pacific could annihilate all the development achievements in the last 30 years and it will be children and young people who suffer the greatest impact."

Mr McKinlay said while a great deal of discussion had focused on the impact of the disease in Africa, not much attention had been paid to small island nations like those in the South Pacific.

He said people needed to realise that the disease threatened their children's future prospects.

"The good news is that the South Pacific is one of the last places on Earth where we can have a positive impact in slowing the spread of Aids, but that window is closing fast."

Gillian Mellsop, head of Unicef, South Pacific, said prevention was the key to stopping an HIV/Aids catastrophe in the region.

"Misconceptions that HIV/Aids is mainly a homosexual virus, or limited to high-risk groups such as sex workers and drug users, are hampering prevention efforts in the region."

Ms Mellsop said the predominant mode of transmission to date had been heterosexual, and unprotected sex represented the primary risk.

HIV-positive mothers risk passing the virus to their babies, though with medication during pregnancy and avoiding breast feeding, the risk of mothers transmitting the disease can be minimised.

Though data was limited, 1028 HIV cases had been reported in Pacific Island countries excluding Papua New Guinea, where the UN estimates 40,000 people live with the virus. Tuvalu and Kiribati had the highest rates in the Pacific.

To gain a clearer picture the World Health Organisation recommended multiplying the total number of reported cases of HIV and Aids by between 10 and 30.

Using this formula, she said, several island nations - including holiday destination Fiji - would be very close to a generalised epidemic.

Disease spread

Factors hastening spread of HIV in the Pacific:

* High mobility and sexually active populations.

* Increase in substance abuse.

* Increase in sex workers and sex tourism.

* Lack of health and sex education.

* Low condom use and access.

* Low status of women.

* Decreasing adherence to traditional values.

* Denial and taboos surrounding sexuality.

* Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/Aids.