IAS Joins Calls To Eliminate Mother To Child Transmission Of HIV
26 May 2009 (Geneva, Switzerland) - The International AIDS Society (IAS) today joined the Joint United Nations Programme
on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in its call for the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV.
"There is overwhelming scientific evidence to show that providing antiretroviral treatment to pregnant women will both
save the woman's life and prevent her unborn child from becoming infected. This treatment is available and affordable,
yet too many countries have reported that less than 25% of HIV-positive pregnant women received it. In fact, in 2007,
only 21% of women in low- and middle-income countries were routinely tested for HIV as part of their pre-natal care,"
said Dr Julio Montaner, IAS President and Director of the Canadian-based British Columbia Center for Excellence (BC-CfE)
in HIV/AIDS.
"It is our moral obligation to make every effort to prevent this needless loss of life and to protect the health of
mothers and their children. Each AIDS-related maternal death, and each new HIV infection of a newborn or infant is a
needless tragedy," said Dr Montaner.
Dr. Montaner went further in calling for dramatically scaled up HIV testing and the availability of treatment for all
HIV-positive persons. "HIV is a disease that affects the whole family, the whole community. Making treatment available
to everyone who is ready to adhere to the medications, and well before any clinical symptoms of HIV disease, will keep
people alive and productive in their communities. We must fight to ensure that the human rights of people living with
and most affected by HIV are protected by legislation and policy so that more people come forward for testing, and so
that testing can be offered routinely and ethically in health care settings. Early testing and treatment will contribute
to more effective prevention, especially when combined with other proven preventative interventions."
The IAS is the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals, with over 13,000 members in 188 countries
working at all levels of the global response to HIV/AIDS. IAS members represent scientists, clinicians, public health,
policy experts and community practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic. The IAS is the lead organizer of the
International AIDS Conference and the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention.
ENDS