Abstract:
Adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is the mainstay of the strategy in reducing morbidity and mortality
of HIV-infected children. Different primary studies were conducted in Ethiopia. Thus, we aimed to conduct a meta-analysis
of the national prevalence of optimal adherence to HAART in children. In addition, associated factors of HAART adherence
were reviewed. A weighted inverse variance random-effects model was applied. The 88.7 and 93.7% of children were adhering
to HAART at 07 and 03 days prior to an interview respectively. The subgroup analysis showed that HAART adherence
was 93.4% in Amhara, 90.1% in Addis Ababa and 87.3% in Tigray at 07 days prior to an interview. Our study suggests that,
within short window reported time, adherence to HAART in Ethiopian children may be in a good progress. Emphasis on specific
adherence interventions need further based on individual predictors to improve overall HAART adherence of children.
