Scientists have come up with a new formulation of drug that will be taken by children affected with HIV/AIDS  known as Lopinavir/ritonavir which is in form of pallets and will replace the one which has been administered to children. The initiative is geared towards improving  and solving  the burden of swallowing bitter liquid drugs by HIV positive children.

According to the national coordinator pediatric and adolescent HIV care at the health ministry, Dr. Cordelia Katureebe revealed  that they have for long been receiving complaints from parents and guardians of the children living with HIV about the bitterness the current drug has been pausing to the kids which has also seen them neglect to swallow the drug which makes their lives  riskier, making them develop  more health complications as a result of not being able to take their drugs religiously. She also stresses that with the clinical trial that  started in May  this year and will end in 2017, they are targeting over 3000 children under 15 years across the country and health experts hope to roll it out by 2018.

The  project manager paediatric HIV, at drugs for neglected diseases initiative (DNDi) Dr. Olawale Salami confirms that previous clinical trials on the same pallets have been carried out in Kenya and now in Uganda with results indicating positive thus the need to have it used in our countries with children under 15 years.

But one of the mothers who has a positive child found  at Joint Clinical Reserch Centhre in  Lubowa says the current syrup administered to children is bitter and not very good for kids to consume but with the new formulation of pellets will help and make it easy for the positive kids to swallow their drugs.

The  statistics carried out last year in the country by the ministry of health shows  that 95000 children are estimated to be born with HIV and only 60,000 (63%) are on treatment with 37000 not yet on treatment.