Europa Newswire
Photo By Luiz Rampelotto
30 November 2009
By Mary Slosson
New York, NY - Measures to reduce the
transmission of HIV/AIDS from mothers to children have been increasingly
effective, according to a United Nations report released today.
The report, released jointly by UNAIDS, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO), outlines the situation of children and AIDS four years into the global Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS campaign.
Jimmy Kolker, Chief of the HIV/AIDS Section at UNICEF, reported that, “in countries such as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Swaziland,” the transmission rates of mother to child infection “are going down dramatically.” Those countries have or are approaching “peak coverage” of mother-to-child transmission prevention services.
However, Kolker noted that, “in many
countries, rural people have less access.”
“There is a coverage gap in almost every country,” Kolker noted, “but those doing the best job of scaling up actually have reached the rural clinics and are also offering medication to prevent transmission to newborns.”
Of course, “the best way,” to reduce transmission rates, according to Kolker, “is to not be infected in the first place.”
HIV testing, medical treatment to prevent
mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and pediatric treatment for HIV
positive children, and the prevention of infections amongst youth and
young adults are all highlighted as effective strategies to combat AIDS.
The UN agencies involved in the report insisted that full progress in realizing an AIDS-free generation would not be made until the deeper causes of HIV infection - including lack of access to complete health services, gender-based and sexual violence, and poverty - are confronted.
UNICEF and UNAIDS are asking for an additional US$11 billion in funding in order to reach their goal of universal access to HIV treatment and prevention, while acknowledging that the global economic turndown has forced donors to reconsider their financial support.
