HIV Transmission- Mother to Infant

Several of the countries that HELP travels to struggle with fatal medical issues, one being HIV.  Sadly, women who have HIV will most likely transfer it to their unborn infant.  The World Health Organization is trying to come up with interventions so that unborn babies do not receive this deadly virus.  

 

© Nancy Palus/IRIN

The transmission of HIV from an HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding is called mother-to-child transmission. In the absence of any interventions transmission rates range from 15-45%. This rate can be reduced to levels below 5% with effective interventions. The global community has committed itself to accelerate progress for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) through an initiative with the goal to eliminate new paediatric HIV infections by 2015 and improve maternal, newborn and child survival and health in the  context of HIV.

WHO works together with partners on setting global norms and standards for HIV prevention, care and treatment of pregnant women, mothers and their children, developing evidence-based strategies, defining global targets, baselines and indicators, promoting the integration of PMTCT into maternal-newborn-child health services and strengthening health systems.
(Retreived from http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/mtct/en/index.html)

Yours Truly, HELP Headquarters