Major Increase in Services Needed for Pregnant HIV-Positive Women to Stop Virus

[Guest guest]

UNICEF Press Release that might be of relevance to Indian

circumstance:

Major Increase in Services Needed for Pregnant HIV-Positive Women to

Stop Virus Being Passed to Children

On World AIDS Day UNICEF and WHO Convene High Level Partners Forum

to Plan Way Forward in Worst Affected Countries

ABUJA, Nigeria, 30 Nov 2005 – The number of children who become HIV

positive every year could be more than halved if pregnant women

living with HIV received comprehensive services including anti-

retroviral drugs, UNICEF said today. But less than 10 per cent of

women who need these services are getting them.

Currently, more than 600,000 children are estimated to become

infected with HIV each year, over 90 per cent of them because they

are born to mothers infected with the virus.

On World AIDS Day UNICEF, WHO and other partners called for far

greater access to preventive services for pregnant women living with

HIV. Key allies in the battle against AIDS are meeting here this

week to jump start efforts toward achieving the global target of 80

per cent of pregnant women in need of services receiving them by

2010. At the current rate of progress this target, set by the UN at

the General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS in 2001, will not

be met, hampering efforts toward achieving the millennium

development goal of halting and reversing HIV/AIDS by 2015.

" Hundreds of thousands of children are needlessly born with HIV

every year, and many of them die in the first year of life. Yet

effective interventions exist, " said UNICEF Executive Director Ann

Veneman. " We can dramatically reduce the number of children infected

by HIV by providing these services to mothers. "

The High Level Global Partner Forum will bring together 140 experts

from international organizations and delegations from 27 countries

to share best practices and define future directions for

accelerating expansion of coverage in countries that most need it.

The forum will also share the latest science on the effectiveness of

different delivery approaches, the efficacy of anti-retroviral drugs

in reducing the transmission of HIV and the feasibility of providing

long-term anti-retroviral treatment to keep mothers healthy.

In 1998, an Interagency Task Team comprising UNICEF, WHO, UNAIDS and

UNFPA initiated pilot projects to demonstrate the feasibility of

Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programmes in 11 high-burden

countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Since

then significant progress has been made. Over 100 countries have

implemented PMTCT programmes, 16 of which offer services nationwide.

However most of the worst affected countries, particularly in sub-

Saharan Africa, continue to suffer from extremely low rates of

service coverage. Of the 11 original pilot countries, only Botswana

has achieved national coverage with at least fifty per cent of HIV

positive pregnant women receiving services by the end of 2004.

The biggest challenges to expanding PMTCT services in resource poor

settings are weak health systems and a shortage of health care

workers and supplies. In addition, communities have not been

adequately involved in supporting programme implementation.

Funding for AIDS from donor governments has increased significantly

in recent years. However children have yet to receive their fair

share. One key recommendation to donor governments will be to

earmark AIDS funding specifically for programmes aimed at children.

Following the meeting, technical assistance will be provided to

governments to formulate national plans of action. Governments will

be encouraged to integrate PMTCT programmes into routine family and

child health services.

Expanding access to PMTCT services is one of the four pillars of

the " Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS " campaign, launched by

UNICEF, UNAIDS and partners on October 25th, with the ultimate goal

of an HIV free generation. Progress on the other pillars- primary

prevention, pediatric treatment and protection of children affected

by AIDS- are also vital to reverse the impact of the disease.

" P N "

E-mail: pnayar@...>