Children’s HIV and AIDS Reporting System (CHARS)

The Children’s HIV and AIDS Reporting System (CHARS) collects clinical and other health data on all children and young people living with HIV seen by paediatric services in England until transition to adult care. The purpose of CHARS is to monitor health outcomes and quality of services and to contribute to national epidemiological surveillance.

CHARS launched in 2022 and is commissioned by NHS England running alongside the Integrated Screening Outcomes Surveillance Service (ISOSS).

CHARS is designed to complement the UK Health Security Agency’s HIV & AIDS Reporting System (HARS) used for monitoring adult infections, providing a dedicated paediatric surveillance to ensure the unique needs of this population are met. CHARS works closely with Chiva, supporting Chiva’s standards of care and clinical guidelines, alongside strong links with the British HIV Association (BHIVA) and paediatric infectious disease clinical networks across England. CHARS also contributes to the HIV Clinical Reference Group, providing key metrics to support patient outcomes.

CHARS produces an annual report with key metrics. The 2024 report focuses on children and young people seen for HIV care in England in 2022-23.  Key findings include:

  • The majority of those in paediatric care are teenagers and will soon be transferring to adult services (1/3 have already transferred to adolescent or adult care since CHARS launched)
  • Almost half were born abroad and nearly all children acquired HIV vertically.
  • There is high retention in care with nearly all children and young people on ART. Triumeq is the most commonly reported regimen.
  • Clinical markers are reassuring with nearly 90% virologically suppressed and 80% with Stage 1 immune status.

Please remember to submit your paediatric HIV reports to ISOSS and CHARS to ensure ongoing quality of care: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/chars/