Government-funded programmes and services for vulnerable - Unicef

Government-funded programmes and services for vulnerable children in SA
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A child over the
age of 12 or a child
younger than 12 who is
sufficiently mature may
consent to HIV testing.
If there is no parent/
caregiver or designated
child protection
organisation available to
consent, the superintendent
of the hospital may
provide the consent.
The child’s HIV status is
protected from disclosure.
Section 133 of the
Children’s Act prohibits
the disclosure of the HIV
status of a child without
appropriate consent.
Non-medical sites are
situated away from
medical services,
though they have
relationships with
them, e.g. NGOs,
faith- and communitybased
organisations.
The objective of
services in these
settings is to increase
access to counselling
and testing by groups
not receiving them in
government
facilities. xxv
Testing of infants and
young children
The revised Guidelines
for the Management of
HIV in children (2nd
edition, 2010) recognises
that without PMTCT
interventions, MTCT
occurs in about 30% of
infants and that most
of the children infected
at the time of birth will
develop features of the
disease by six months
of age. HIV disease
progresses much more
rapidly in infants and
children than in adults.
The reality is that 40% of
HIV-infected infants die
before they reach the first
year of life and there is
a 75% increased risk of
mortality in infants and
children deferring ART in
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