NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’ Examines Efforts to Provide HIV/AIDS Treatment to Children in Kenyan Slum
NPR's "All Things Considered" on Thursday profiled the efforts of an HIV/AIDS clinic operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, to provide treatment to thousands of HIV-positive children. Clinic Coordinator Rachel Thomas said that although it is difficult to obtain accurate rates of HIV in the slum because of its transient population, Kibera's HIV prevalence rate is approximately 14%. Thomas said that diagnosing HIV in children is even more difficult because the HIV tests available in Kibera only can be used for children at least 18 months old. According to Thomas, because many children do not receive HIV treatments soon after birth, many die before their second birthday. In addition, many HIV/AIDS medications do not have a pediatric dosage, a pill size that children can swallow, or a regimen that does not require refrigeration or mixing with clean water -- requirements that can be difficult to meet in slums such as Kibera (Beaubien, "All Things Considered," NPR, 12/29/05).
The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.