LONDON, Oct. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Children affected by AIDS are the "missing face" not only away from global and national policy discussions, but also lacking access to basic care and prevention, UN officials said on Monday.

    "Children are left out of the debate of AIDS. Too many children grow up alone, grow up too soon that they have to take responsibility as adults in the households, or not grow up at all because of AIDS," David Bull, executive director of UNICEF UK, told Xinhua.

    Bull said UNICEF, along with UNAIDS, will launch an ambitious global program -- "United for Children, United Against AIDS" -- in London on Tuesday aimed at saving more kids from the fatal disease.

    A UNICEF report scheduled to be released on Tuesday said that every minute, a child dies of an AIDS-related illness, a child contracts HIV, and four young people aged 15-24 become infected with HIV.

    Moreover, about 15 million children across the world have lost at least one of their parents due to AIDS. However, less than 10 percent of the orphaned children receive public support, the report says.

    "We want everybody to be partners in this (program). UN agencies, governments (of the countries) where these children are living, companies that operate in these countries, the member of the public, they all have a role to play," said Bull.

    Bull was echoed by Nais Mason, UNICEF regional advisor on AIDS for East and Southern Africa.

    "All the stakeholders should be geared up in this campaign. This is a wake-up call and we need to act now," said Mason, a mother of two kids. "It's important to pass the knowledge to the mothers with HIV/AIDS on mother-to-child transmission."

    Bull assessed that 30 billion US dollars will be needed in the next five years to save children from the scourge.

    "The most important thing is that we have to find the resourcesfor these changes," he said. "We ask donor countries to increase the aid level and make specific portion targeted for children affected by the disease." Enditem