prevention oFmother-to- child transmission oF hiv - Unicef UK

prevention oFmother-tochild
transmission of hiv
© UNICEF UK/Kenya 2006/Irby
Mary Wasike and baby Samuel
Mary discovered she had HIV
when she was five months
pregnant.
A health worker at Isiolo District
Hospital in central Kenya
explained that there was an
effective treatment to prevent her
from passing HIV to her baby.
Mary received a course of
medicine for three months
before she gave birth and a
tablet when she went into
labour. Baby Samuel was given
some medicated syrup soon
after he was born to protect him
from the virus.
Information Sheet
Last updated: February 2010
After an agonising wait of seven
months, Mary received joyful
news: Samuel’s HIV test confirmed
he was born free from HIV.
“When the nurse told me,
it was the happiest day of
my life. I was so excited, I
couldn’t sleep!”
Mary did not pass the virus to
baby Samuel because of the
medicine and care she received
at the UNICEF-supported hospital.
Every child has a right to the best
possible health, regardless of
their background. With your help
UNICEF can ensure that more
babies are born free from HIV.
UNICEF’s campaign
Almost every minute of every
day, a baby is born with HIV,
passed on by their mother
during pregnancy, labour
or delivery.
In 2008, an estimated 387,000
babies were born with HIV.
Lacking treatment, a third of
them are unlikely to live to see
their second birthday.
This is because, despite
recent progress, only 2 in 5
mothers with HIV has access
to the medicine and health care
services they need to free their
babies from HIV.
? UNICEF UK, 30a Great Sutton Street, London, EC1V 0DU
( 0844 801 2414 8 unicef.org.uk/unite Registered Charity No. 1072612

To protect the right of all children
to the best possible health,
UNICEF is campaigning to ensure
that all pregnant women with HIV
receive the right medicine and
care to prevent them passing HIV
onto their baby.
Given this medicine and care,
the chance that a mother with
HIV will pass the virus to her
baby drops to less than 1 in 50.
UNICEF’s Unite for Children,
Unite against AIDS campaign
aims to provide medicine and
care for all mothers and babies.
Mother-to-child transmission
Without the services to prevent
mother-to-child transmission of
HIV (PMTCT), about one-third
of women with HIV will pass the
virus to her baby. Given proper
PMTCT services, this risk can be
reduced to less than 2 per cent.
PMTCT services include
counselling, medicine and testing
for HIV. Mothers with HIV receive
a course of anti-retroviral medicine
to take before birth and then a
tablet with the onset of labour.
When the mother has given birth,
the baby is given medicated syrup.
In addition, mothers are counselled
on infant-feeding options to reduce
the risk of transmission through
breastfeeding.
UNICEF believes that mothers
with HIV need more than just
the medical treatment and care
that prevents them passing the
virus to their babies. It is vital to
provide ongoing treatment and
care, so that the baby that is
born free does not grow up
an orphan.
To this end, we support the
development of PMTCT services
as a starting point for providing
treatment, care and support to
whole families.
Preventing mother-to-child
transmission of HIV is one of
the four main aims of our Unite
for Children, Unite against AIDS
campaign.
Five-year-old Kelton holds his four-week-old brother, Elson. His mother, Inonge, learned
she was HIV-positive while pregnant with Elson. She participates in a PMTCT programme
which provides Elson with preventative medication and will administer his first HIV test
when he is six weeks old. © UNICEF/NYHQ2009-0731/Nesbitt
The other aims are:
m Provide paediatric treatment
Worldwide, all children with
HIV must receive childfriendly
medicine.
m Prevent HIV among young
people
Young people, especially
young women, are the most
vulnerable to HIV. We need
to empower young people by
providing them with the facts
about HIV.
m Protect and support orphans
and other children made
vulnerable by HIV and AIDS
The 17.5 million children
orphaned because of AIDS
need to receive protection,
care and support.
What you can do
Fulfilling the rights of every
child means ensuring that HIV
and AIDS is not allowed to
reverse the progress we have
already made for children. We
need your help to reach the
most remote and marginalised
to ensure that every child has
the best possible start in life.
Denying child rights is wrong.
Campaign, donate or raise
money and help us put it right.
To find out more, please visit
unicef.org.uk/unite
UNICEF is funded entirely
through voluntary donations.
While we are part of the United
Nations family we are not
funded from the UN budget.
? UNICEF UK, 30a Great Sutton Street, London, EC1V 0DU ( 0844 801 2414 8 www.unicef.org.uk/unite