As the world marks World Children’s Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for decisive, accelerated action to uphold the rights of every child, regardless of nationality, community, or circumstance, to health, protection and life-saving care. Every child has the right to health, protection, education, life-saving care, and to have their voice heard. Yet millions of children and adolescents are still falling ill and dying from preventable diseases - including HIV, tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) - that continue to rob them of their futures.
In 2024 alone, an estimated 1.4 million children and adolescents (0–14 years) were living with HIV (or 2.4 million 0-19 years) and 120,000 children 0-14 years were newly infected with HIV. Around 1.2 million children and young adolescents (0-14 years) fell ill with TB, and over 170,000 children died, most under five years of age. STIs also pose a significant but often under-recognized threat to adolescents. Despite limited data, major STIs share the same behavioural, social and structural determinants as HIV, underscoring the need for integrated prevention, testing and treatment approaches. Chronic hepatitis B affects 254 million people globally, with 12% of infections occurring in children, largely due to mother-to-child transmission and early childhood exposure. While vaccination has reduced hepatitis B prevalence in children under five to below 1%, major gaps persist: only 45% of newborns worldwide receive the crucial hepatitis B birth-dose vaccine within 24 hours of birth. Without timely prevention and treatment, hepatitis can lead to lifelong liver disease and cancer.
Children and adolescents, especially those living with infectious diseases, coupled with malnutrition, poverty, conflict or marginalization, continue to face unacceptable delays in diagnosis, barriers to treatment, and limited access to preventive services.
“Ending TB, HIV, hepatitis and STIs in children and adolescents is a matter of justice,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director - WHO Department for HIV, TB, hepatitis & STIs. “Every child and young person deserves a healthy start in life. By ending these diseases, we are not only saving lives - we are securing a future where every child can thrive.”
WHO support to countries
WHO is working closely with countries worldwide to accelerate progress against TB, HIV, hepatitis and STIs in children and adolescents:
- HIV, Hepatitis and STIs: The Global Health Sector Strategies (2022–2030) promote integrated prevention, testing and treatment services, with a strong focus on protecting children. A cornerstone of this - WHO’s Triple Elimination Initiative - guides countries to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B promoting person-centred, integrated care which leverages proven interventions like universal antenatal screening, timely treatment, and hepatitis B birth dose vaccination. This year, the Maldives became the first country in the world to be validated by WHO for Triple Elimination. Countries in every region are now on their way to similar achievements through WHO’s validation of elimination programme.
- Tuberculosis: Through the Roadmap towards ending TB in children and adolescents, WHO provides practical guidance to close gaps between policy and practice. This roadmap, aligned with the Political Declaration of the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting on TB, sets out ten key actions to ensure children and adolescents receive timely diagnosis, treatment and care. To support national programmes and health workers, WHO has also developed training modules, available on the WHO Academy, to strengthen capacity for managing TB in children and adolescents
- Youth leadership: WHO’s 1+1 Youth Initiative has mobilized over 90,000 young people to accelerate the TB response. The Global Alliance to End AIDS in Children by 2030, co-led by WHO, UNICEF and UNAIDS, brings together countries and partners to eliminate mother-to-child transmission and improve care for children. Central to its approach is youth leadership: adolescents and young people serve as champions, advocating for HIV prevention and treatment and helping to break down social barriers that limit access to services in their communities.
On Children’s Day, WHO calls on governments, communities and partners to put children and adolescents at the centre of national health agendas and to meaningfully engage young people in shaping the services that protect them from preventable diseases such as TB, HIV, hepatitis and STIs.