STOP AIDS IN CHILDREN CAMPAIGN

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270,000 children die of AIDS every year.

Prevent HIV transmission from mother to child

What is the problem?

270,000 children die of AIDS every year. 500,000 children will die in the next two years.

Can this be prevented?

Yes, it can. The vast majority of these child deaths can be prevented by stopping the transmission of HIV from mothers to their babies. If babies don’t become infected with HIV then they won’t develop AIDS and die.

What is the target of the Stop AIDS in Children campaign?

We are asking for urgent efforts to be made to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to baby, so that within the next two years, the number of children dying of AIDS will have been halved.

How can transmission of HIV from mother to baby be prevented?

Any baby born to a mother with HIV risks becoming infected during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. The chance of this happening can be massively reduced by giving HIV infected mothers and their babies anti-HIV drugs and, where appropriate, by feeding the baby using formula rather than breast milk.

These interventions are known as the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission or “PMTCT”. No mother wants to pass HIV to her child, but without PMTCT interventions, around one in three babies born to women with HIV will become infected with HIV themselves.

How many women are receiving PMTCT to protect their babies?

An HIV postive child in South Africa

An HIV positive child in South Africa.

In developed countries, almost all HIV infected women will receive good PMTCT care. With the best treatment and formula feeding, the chance of HIV being transmitted to the baby is less than two percent.

In developing countries it is very different. While a few developing countries have launched effective responses, on average 33% of women receive drugs to prevent their babies being born with HIV. As a result, around 370,000 children are infected with HIV every year.

Why are so many pregnant women not receiving the help they need?

Most often it is because PMTCT services are unavailable or inefficient, or because women are unable to access them. Stigma and fear may also play a role by making a woman unwilling to take an HIV test, or unwilling to take PMTCT drugs.

These problems, though challenging, can be overcome. Some developing countries, such as Botswana and Brazil, are already providing PMTCT services to most of their pregnant women.

Can’t children with HIV be treated with antiretroviral drugs to stop them developing AIDS?

Treatment for children is possible, and some children are being treated with great success. But paediatric treatment is costly and often difficult to administer in resource-poor settings. Preventing a child from becoming infected in the first place is always a better solution.

What needs to be done?

The Stop AIDS in Children campaign is asking for:

  • Governments of countries that lack universal access to PMTCT services to set more ambitious targets and make PMTCT a national priority.
  • International agencies to increase the emphasis on PMTCT as an issue that needs to be urgently addressed.
  • All agencies involved in providing PMTCT care to ensure that their services are as efficient as possible.
  • Developed country governments to keep their promises by supporting the Global Fund and promoting PMTCT as part of bilateral funding agreements.
  • WHO to collaborate with UNAIDS and UNICEF to create a specific report on PMTCT service provision to give a better overview of the international situation, and to galvanise the response. This call has now been fulfilled with the most recent publication "Children and AIDS: Third Stock Taking Report" by WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF now available. Read the press release and report.
  • WHO / UNAIDS to set interim targets for 2008 and 2009 with a view to reaching the internationally agreed target of 80% coverage of PMTCT services by 2010.

It is only by acting on all of these points that we will reach the goal of halving the number of child AIDS deaths by 2010.

What action will the campaign be taking?

The Stop AIDS in Children campaign will be:

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A video made by AVERT about mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

  • Working with the media to highlight the problems and solutions
  • Asking people to ‘sign up’ as supporters of the campaign
  • Featuring the campaign prominently on the AVERT.org website
  • Asking people to promote the campaign online
  • Launching a video to raise awareness of mother-to-child transmission and the campaign

What can I do to support the Stop AIDS in Children campaign?

The success of the campaign depends on you! You can help in the following ways:

  • Write to your local political representative
  • Promote the campaign in your local newspaper
  • Organise awareness events
  • Set up a local Stop AIDS in Children campaign group in your college/institution
  • Feature the Stop AIDS in children logo on your blog / website / Myspace profile (instructions at the end of this page)
  • Join our Stop AIDS in Children Facebook group
  • Become a campaign supporter by signing up below!

Who is running the Stop AIDS in Children campaign?

The Stop AIDS in Children campaign is being run by the international HIV and AIDS charity AVERT as part of its work to avert HIV and AIDS worldwide.

Other groups

Other organisations are also striving to improve the standard of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission. These include:

If your organisation is also taking action to stop AIDS in children and would like to be added to this list then please contact us.

Prevent HIV transmission from mother to child

Join the campaign

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Source

  • UNAIDS (2008) 'Report on the global AIDS epidemic'.UNAIDS Report