Catalyzing Expanded Access to Early Testing, Care and Treatment for HIV-Exposed Infants

Overview

By late 2019, the four-year, U.S. $63 million UNITAID/Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) project aims to significantly increase the number of HIV-positive infants receiving life-saving treatment in nine project countries, and also develop robust global and national markets for affordable, effective and equitable HIV infant testing.

Without treatment, up to 30% of HIV-infected children will die by their first birthday, and 50% by their second. While coverage of conventional, laboratory-based early infant diagnosis (EID) screening has increased in recent years, effective testing could be greatly expanded through the integration of point-of-care (POC) testing into national EID laboratory networks.