More than 570,000 children under the age of 15 die of AIDS every year - most having contacted HIV from their mothers - states a new global report highlighting concerns about the low access to antiretroviral treatment (ART).//

The report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) shows the number of people on HIV ART in low- and middle- income countries more than tripled to 1.3 million in December 2005 from 400,000 in December 2003.

Yet it is not enough, particularly in case of pregnant women, most of who fail to get the treatment to prevent the transmission to their children.

"One notable area of concern is access to therapy to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, which remains unacceptably low. Between 2003 and 2005, fewer than 10 percent of HIV-positive pregnant women received antiretroviral prophylaxis before or during childbirth," the report released Wednesday says.

"As a result, 1,800 infants were born with HIV every day. Each year over 570,000 children under the age of 15 die of AIDS, most having acquired HIV from their mothers," it says.

While the new report found no systematic bias against women in ART access, rates of coverage for women varied. In some countries, more women receive treatment than men.

"Two years ago, political support and resources for the rapid scale-up of HIV treatment were very limited," says WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook.

"Today '3-by-5' has helped to mobilise political and financial commitment to achieving much broader access to treatment. This fundamental change in expectations is transforming our hopes of tackling not just HIV/AIDS, but other diseases as well."

Launched by WHO and UNAIDS on World AIDS Day - Dec 1 2003 - '3-by-5' aimed at providing treatment to three million people in low and middle-income countries by the end of 2005.

Between 2003 and 2005, global expenditure on
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