Countries must do more to protect mothers and children from HIV/AIDS - UN
6 March 2008 - With over 1,100 children being infected with HIV daily, United Nations organizations have appealed to countries to
bolster efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmissions (PMTCT) of the virus.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN World Health Organization (WHO), along with the Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric
AIDS Foundation, jointly called on authorities to step up protection for mothers and children at the end of a three-day
global meeting on HIV/AIDS in Washington yesterday.
"An AIDS-free generation is no longer an imagined ideal - it can be a reality," said Jimmy Kolker, Chief of UNICEF's HIV
Section. "We know what works to prevent HIV transmission from mothers to children. Governments and donors must act now
to scale up PMTCT services."
Women account for half of all new HIV infections world and 90 per cent of all new infections in children are due to
mother-to-child transmissions.
However, there is a marked disparity between high and low-income countries regarding PMTCT and paediatric HIV treatment.
In wealthier nations, the number of infants born with HIV has dropped to less than 2 per cent thanks to widespread PMTCT
services, while in poorer countries, as many as nine out of 10 HIV-positive pregnant women do not receive the necessary
medicines to prevent transmission.
Without proper treatment, children who acquire HIV from their mothers will not live to see their second birthday. Also,
currently only 11 per cent of children worldwide in need of anti-retroviral treatment receive it.
The organizations appealed to nations to prioritize PMTCT as well as paediatric care, support and treatment in their
grant proposals for the latest round of the UN-backed Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which to date
has contributed more than $10 billion to fight the diseases through 550 programmes in 136 countries.
They also urged authorities to utilize available funding through the Global Fund and other mechanisms to increase the
availability of PMTCT and paediatric treatment.
ENDS