Until recently, the only WHO-recommended lopinavir-based treatment available for babies and very young children in SA consisted of a syrup that contained 40% alcohol and required refrigeration.
Caregivers struggled to give this bitter-tasting formulation to young children, leading to poor adherence, and those without fridges found storage difficult, with some burying the bottle in the ground to keep it cold.
The 4-in-1 treatment joins other new WHO-approved child-friendly treatment options.
Moherndran Archary, who represents child and adolescent interests at the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, said children with HIV had been left behind and only half of them were on treatment.
“Along with other optimal ARV formulations being introduced in SA, the approval of the 4-in-1 is a step towards closing this gap and ending the neglect of children with HIV.”
Source: TimesLIVE