Working for Women Worldwide - Embassy of the United States

Alzira’s labor began early one morning in May.
She immediately went to the health center, received
nevirapine, and after a few hours of labor, delivered a
baby boy, Apolinário, who also received nevirapine.
Following the birth, Alzira and Apolinário joined a
support group for HIV-positive mothers and their
babies at the health center, and they continued to go to
the Day Hospital for care.
When Apolinário was five months old, the Day
Hospital tested him to determine his HIV status.
Alzira cried with joy
and relief when she
heard that his test was
negative, indicating that
her baby was not likely
to be infected. Since
Alzira is not breastfeeding,
there is an
excellent chance that
her son still will prove
HIV-negative at 18
months, when a conclusive
antibody test can be
done. Because of her
participation in the preventive
program, Alzira has given her son an opportunity
for a life without HIV.
This program to prevent mother-to-child transmission
of HIV/AIDS is fully integrated within the
Mozambican public health services and operated with
U.S. funds by Health Alliance International, a U.S.-
based nonprofit private organization. With Emergency
Plan funding in 2004, Health Alliance International
was able to offer the program’s integrated prevention
services at 12 new sites, treating about 3,000 pregnant
women and their newborns to avert new HIV infections,
and providing new hope and services to thousands
of Mozambicans like Alzira and Apolinário.
The United States launched its International
Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative in 2002,
to make programs like the one above possible. The initiative,
now integrated into the President’s Emergency
Plan, targets countries in Africa, Asia, and the
Caribbean, committing $500 million over five years.
The current target countries include Botswana, Cote
d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya,
Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South
Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia, as
well as participants in a Caribbean regional program.
The Emergency Plan is already changing the shape
of HIV prevention and treatment in these countries.
Since its inception, country capacity has improved
significantly; countries
that were previously
thought to be incapable
of providing antiretroviral
treatment are
scaling up programs
that reach pregnant
women, their children,
and families.
In Mozambique—
a country twice the size
of the state of California,
with a population of
18 million and a national
HIV prevalence rate
of 13.6 percent—U.S. funding in 2004 has enabled the
Ministry of Health to roll out preventive services in
31 new sites, reaching 64,000 additional pregnant
women and treating about 4,200 HIV-positive women
and their newborns.
For more information on this U.S. initiative, see
http://www.state.gov/s/gac.
Z
Above, a mother and her daughter receive care through an antenatal
clinic supported by the U.S. government in Mozambique.
27