Potential of Prebiotic Galacto-oligosaccharides in Improving Efficacy and Safety of Oral Iron Supplementation in HIV-infected Children

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 10-15 years at baseline; * Mild to moderate micro- and normocytic anaemia defined as Hb ≥8.0 and \<11.5 / 12 g/dL (children 10-11 / 12-15 years) plus mean corpuscular volume ≤91.5 fL and/or iron deficiency defined as ferritin \<30 µg/L or sTfR \>8.3 mg/L; * Body-Mass-Index-for-age Z-scores (BAZ) -3 to 2 SD of reference population; * HIV criteria: HIV RNA viral load \<50 copies/mL (measured as part of routine care); * Willingness of caregiver to participate in the study; * Caregiver speaks English, Afrikaans or isiXhosa; * The informed consent form has been read and signed by the caregiver (or has been read out to the caregiver in case of illiteracy) plus assent needs to be obtained from the child; * Residence in the study area for the period of the study. Exclusion Criteria: * Child received iron supplements or antibiotic treatment 3 months prior to study start; * Acute illness or other conditions that in the opinion of the PI or co-researchers would jeopardize the safety or rights of a participant in the trial or would render the participant unable to comply with the protocol; * Participants taking part in other studies involving medical or physical interventions.