Achieving 90-90-90 in paediatric HIV: adolescence as the touchstone for transition success

The number of children less than 15 years estimated to be living with HIV globally approximated 3.2 million in 2013. Young people aged 15 to 24 years living with HIV approximated 4 million. The survival of these children and adolescents into adulthood poses new and urgent challenges of transition from the paediatric to adolescent to adult healthcare settings due to emerging developmental, psychosocial and comorbid issues. In order to achieve treatment targets of 90-90-90 across the continuum of care for paediatric HIV by 2020, focused efforts on the implementation of appropriate healthcare transition plans across the lifespan, with a focus on adolescence, should be prioritized.

Published data or empirical evidence examining implementation of transition models and association with clinical outcomes are limited. While some guidelines do exist that offer recommendations about how to promote seamless transitions, very few data are available to assess the adequacy of these guidelines and whether they are effectively adhered to in clinical care settings globally. Furthermore, paediatric and adolescent HIV infection, either acquired perinatally or behaviourally, is set apart from other chronic illnesses as a highly stigmatizing disease that disproportionately affects poor, minority and often marginalized populations. Focused efforts on adolescence as the touchstone for transition practices and policies need to be implemented.

Optimal healthcare for these vulnerable populations, particularly in resource-limited settings, will require HIV-specific transitional care services and programmes that are coordinated, collaborative, integrated and, importantly, evidence-based.