Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Washington Post (12.16.07) - Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Craig Timberg
Despite sustained political and financial support for programs to reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission, studies indicate that just one in 10 infected African mothers has access to the antiretrovirals that can cut the risk of infection during labor by more than half.
UN estimates released last month show that of the 2.5 million children with HIV worldwide, almost 90 percent live in sub- Saharan Africa. The overwhelming majority of these were infected through their mothers. Raising these children, most of whom will die young after long periods of illness, is difficult, especially for a mother who is also infected.
According to the non-governmental group Family Health International (FHI), providing antiretroviral treatment to pregnant women prevented 101,000 cases of pediatric HIV between 1999 and 2006. Contraception, meanwhile, averts the births of 173,000 HIV-infected babies every year. Surveys indicate that most HIV-infected women do not want to become pregnant again for fear of infecting their babies and leaving their healthy offspring as orphans.
"It tends to be the best-kept secret in HIV prevention," said Ward Cates, head of research at FHI, which has extensive experience in Africa.
Yet, international funding of birth control programs has declined. US support of family planning began to wane in 1996, after Republicans assumed control of Congress. European donors also shifted money away from contraception and toward other programs.
When the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was created in 2003, some administration scientists lobbied for expanded family planning efforts, but their advice was vetoed by top program officials. PEPFAR does pay for condoms, but surveys show that Africans rarely use them for contraception. Program officials say they do not object to family planning but opt to focus funding on initiatives they regard as directly related to HIV/AIDS.
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