The Therapeutic Research, Education and AIDS Training (TREAT) Asia Pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Observational Database (TApHOD) is a collaborative cohort of HIV-infected children in the Asia–Pacific region. TApHOD was established in 2007 in response to a need for better information about treatment and care of HIV-infected children living in this region. Its aim is to examine the natural history of HIV disease, monitor antiretroviral therapy (ART) and prophylactic treatments, monitor toxicities related to ART and develop capacity for standardized and systematic data collection that will lead to improved management of children living with HIV.

In Asia and the Pacific, approximately 140 000 children are living with HIV; the number has risen dramatically in recent years.1 In 2004, an estimated 37 000 children died of AIDS-related illnesses in South and Southeast Asia and 51 000 became infected with HIV.2 Over the past few years, the use of ART has been shown to slow disease progression and lower mortality in children.3–6 Despite the few reports of efficacy of ART in HIV-infected children in Thailand, China, Cambodia and India,7–15 there are limited data on the natural history of HIV, ART practices and clinical outcomes of these Asian children infected with HIV.