Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

An estimated 33 million people are infected with HIV worldwide. Approximately 2 million of them are children. The vast majority of pediatric infections are a result of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), yet nearly two-thrids of HIV-positive pregnant women worldwide do not receive the medicines they need to prevent MTCT. Care and treatment are extremely limited for infected children and adults living in resource-poor countries. For children, the situation is particularly dire — less than two percent of HIV-infected children are receiving needed care and treatment.

More than 1,000 children are infected every day with HIV, the vast majority through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and through breast milk. Fortunately, there are simple and effective interventions that significantly reduce MTCT of HIV. For example, a single dose of the drug nevirapine given once to the mother at the onset of labor, and once to the baby during the first three days of its life, can reduce transmission of HIV from a mother to her newborn by approximately 50 percent. Other effective regimens, including those that supplement single-dose nevirapine with enhanced care and treatment services, can further reduce transmission from mother to child.

Despite their proven effectiveness, more than three-quarters of HIV-positive pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries do not receive the medicines they need to prevent MTCT. As a result, hundreds of thousands of babies are newly infected through MTCT each year.

PMTCT programs also provide health benefits for children that go beyond preventing HIV. These programs serve as an entry point for mothers to access treatment for their own HIV infection, allowing them to stay healthy enough to care for their children. In resource-poor countries, sustaining the health of mothers is critical to the survival of their children. PMTCT programs also increase the likelihood that a child will receive follow-up care, including HIV testing and ARV treatment, if needed.

As part of its advocacy agenda, the Foundation works to ensure that adequate funding is provided to expand access to PMTCT services, improve the ability of programs to offer the most effective drug regimens possible, and encourage stronger linkages between PMTCT and care and treatment programs in resource-poor countries.