Preventing the transmission of HIV

We’re working hard to make that possibility become a reality for expectant mums. HIV infection progresses more quickly to AIDS and death in children than adults.

One in three newborns infected with HIV in Africa dies before the age of one, over half before their second birthday, and most have died before they are five years old.

Many children are also growing up having to live with the health consequences of having HIV. Around 2.1 million children around the world under the age of 15 were living with HIV in 2008. The numbers are staggering.

More than 90% of HIV infections in children are transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. Action to prevent transmissions can reduce the risk of transmission from 30-35% to below 2%.

Six-month-old Baby Grace, was born healthy and well in Liberia. But many of the babies born infected with HIV in Africa face a bleak future – one in three will die before reaching their first birthday.

Ways to prevent mother-to-child-transmission

• HIV testing for the mother and her partner and preventing unintended pregnancies among HIV-infected women
• Antiretroviral treatments for the mother during pregnancy and breastfeeding
• Antiretroviral treatments for infants exposed to HIV and AIDS

Preventing mother-to-child transmission in Limpopo province, South Africa

Although a simple and cheap treatment called nevirapine – which prevents the transmission of HIV from mother to child – is available, many health workers don’t know about it or have access to it.

We’re training 200 care workers living in the province so they can:

• encourage women to get tested for HIV 
• provide women with the treatment to prevent transmission of HIV if they need it
• prevent childhood diseases

The project aims to directly benefit 15,000 children under the age of five living in Limpopo. But by investing in training, we will improve the lives of many more children for many years to come.