More than 90% of HIV+ mothers fail to get help to stop transmission to babies

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BMJ 2007;334:763 (14 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.39177.624051.DB

More than 90% of mothers with HIV fail to get help to stop their

babies being born HIV positive

Oona Mashta, London

The UK government should financially support the health services of

developing countries to provide the drugs and care that pregnant,

HIV positive women need to stop them passing the infection to their

babies, a new Unicef report urges.

More than 90% of pregnant, infected women in poor countries miss out

on services that could prevent their babies being born with the

disease, the report says.

Every minute a baby is born with HIV, most of whom are destined to

die before their second birthday, yet the risk of mothers passing

HIV to their babies can be reduced simply and cheaply, claims the

children's organisation.

The new report marks the launch of Unicef UK's campaign to raise

?.5m ( 2.2m; $3m) over the next 18 months to ensure that more

babies in poor countries are born free of HIV.

It is specifically urging the UK government to provide long term

funding to expand the health systems of developing countries.

Pregnant women need to be offered HIV testing, post-test

counselling, and specific doses of antiretroviral drugs during

pregnancy and birth to prevent their babies being born with HIV,

says Unicef.

Developing countries currently have a shortage of about four million

health workers, including doctors, nurses, and support staff.

Unicef UK is lobbying the UK government and leaders of the other G8

most developed countries—which in 2005 pledged more aid to

developing countries—to fund an expansion in the staffing of health

services in those countries.

Unicef UK's deputy executive director, Anita Tiessen, said, " This

money would help provide around four million more health workers so

that the world's most vulnerable people, including mothers and

babies affected by HIV, can receive the essential health services

they need. Without more health workers, babies will continue to be

born with HIV. The G8 leaders must stick to their promises and make

sure more aid is delivered. "

Unicef estimates that an additional 3.4 million children under the

age of 15 will be living with HIV by 2010 unless HIV prevention

programmes worldwide are rapidly expanded. The toll is heaviest in

Africa, but epidemics are growing across the world, particularly in

Asia and eastern Europe.

The report says that effective steps are being taken now to prevent

babies being born with HIV and that these steps are being

implemented in some of the worst hit countries. However, successful

approaches need to be expanded rapidly into nationwide programmes to

ensure that children are born free of HIV and stay free from it, it

says.

Anita Tiessen added: " We are calling specifically on the UK

government to give long term and lasting funds that will strengthen

the health systems of developing countries. The UK government needs

to show strong leadership in the international efforts to reach this

goal, because developing countries urgently need the resources to

recruit, train, and retrain more health workers. "

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Born Free from HIV is accessible at www.unicef.org.uk/bornfree.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/334/7597/763