The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) have launched a new $200 million effort, according to a PEPFAR statement. The Accelerating Children’s HIV/AIDS Treatment (ACT) initiative will double the number of children receiving antiretroviral (ARV) medications in 10 African countries in the next two years.

ACT will provide 300,000 additional children with ARVs in countries with the highest burden of pediatric HIV, the lowest access to pediatric HIV treatment and the greatest disparity in HIV treatment coverage between children and adults. PEPFAR will invest $150 million and CIFF will provide up to $50 million.

In 2013, 3.2 million children under the age of 15 globally were HIV positive. Of those children, 91 percent were in sub-Saharan Africa. Only 24 percent of these children are receiving ARVs. Children are one-third less likely to get ARVs compared to adults. Without ARVs, half of HIV-positive children will die before their second birthday and 80 percent will die before their fifth birthday.

To read the statement, click here.