Overview
International Programs
    

HPP
iTeach
K-RITH
Project M-Health
Philani
Umndeni Family
Whizz Kids United

Educational Resources
Training Programs
 
     
  Pediatric Healthcare for those Infected and Living with AIDS (Philani)
 

Leadership:
US – Margaret Feeney MD ,MSc
David Bangsberg MD, MPH
South Africa – Brian Zanoni MD

Funding sources:
Sullivan Family Foundation
Massachusetts General Hospital

The development of antiviral regimens to block transmission of HIV from mother to child has essentially eliminated pediatric HIV in the U.S., but the pediatric HIV/AIDS epidemic rages on in poor countries, where one HIV+ infant is born each minute.


  Currently fewer than 10% of HIV+ women worldwide receive antiviral drugs to prevent perinatal transmission, and despite international efforts this number is not likely to increase dramatically in the near term due to poor health infrastructure, fear and stigma associated with HIV testing, and poor access to prenatal care. The overlapping epidemics of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis pose a grave threat to child health in sub-Saharan Africa.

The PHILANI Program (Pediatric Healthcare for those Infected and Living with AIDS) is a Center of Excellence for the care and treatment of pediatric HIV and AIDS-related co-infections that commonly afflict HIV-infected children in sub-Saharan Africa.

The aims of Philani are:
  to expand HIV/AIDS care
  to provide clinical training and education to South African health care workers
  and to drive innovation in clinical care for children with HIV/AIDS and its associated opportunistic infections, with a primary emphasis on tuberculosis.

Since the program was launched in late 2008, the number of children receiving pediatric HIV care has grown to >1000 at the 3 program sites. Among the children receiving antiretroviral treatment through Philani, the rate of virologic suppression is 86%, matching or exceeding that of the best pediatric HIV treatment centers in the developed world. More than 225 local health care workers have completed our HIV training course, and others have participated in clinic-based mentoring programs. A monitoring and data collection system for the pediatric ARV program has been implemented.