Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PRNewswire - November 30, 2007
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Medical science has made great strides since the AIDS virus was first discovered. In countries with advanced medical care, new medicines and treatments have reduced the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV from one-in-three to one in 50. Despite these advances, right now, 1,100 children worldwide are infected every day, most of them through mother-to-child transmission of the virus. Without treatment, half of these children will die before their second birthday; three in four will die before they turn five. Those who survive will face a host of debilitating illnesses requiring life-long medical care.
Most of the barriers to treatment exist in the developing world. Women are unaware that treatment exists, there are too few clinics to provide care to all who need it, many clinics do not have the necessary medications and some medical professionals lack the training to deliver this care. As a result, 90 percent of HIV-positive mothers and their newborns never receive these life-saving medicines.
"Medical science has taught us how to keep most newborns free of HIV," said Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation President and CEO Pamela W. Barnes. "Now we need to build the infrastructure necessary to deliver life-saving care to everyone who needs it. When we do that, we will stop mother-to-child transmission worldwide, save millions of children, and transform the very nature of the battle against AIDS."
With the support of the U.S. law known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and private donors, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is working with ministries of health in the countries hardest hit by the pandemic to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and to treat children and families affected by HIV/AIDS. To date, clinics around the world supported by the Foundation have provided HIV testing to more than three million women, and have provided medication and treatment to block HIV transmission to their newborns to those who tested positive for the virus.
Video: http://www.prnewswire.com/broadcast/30518/press.html
Source: Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Bob Yule of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, +1-202-448-8456
071130
PR0711C7
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