Preventing the transmission of HIV from mothers to their children and providing ongoing care and treatment were some of the issues dealt with at the World Health Assembly.
According to a release from UNAIDS, its Executive Director Michel Sidibe met more then 80 health ministers from around the world during that week in Geneva.
It was noted that timely administration of antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive pregnant woman significantly reduces the risk of HIV transmission to their babies.
And despite the fact that it is an inexpensive treatment, the release said, the latest estimates show that in 2007, only 33% of HIV-positive pregnant women received the necessary treatment and only 21% of women in low and middle-income countries were tested for HIV as part of their antenatal care.
The release stated that progress in the area can only be achieved by integrating programmes which prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to their children into the broader reproductive health agenda.
“We can prevent mothers from dying and babies from becoming infected with HIV. That is why I am calling for a virtual elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV by 2015,” Sidibe told the ministers.
The release also quoted Guyana’s Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy’s line that “As long as there is a child born with HIV in this country, our work is not done…”
Another area of focus will be to prevent people living with HIV from dying of tuberculosis.
During the meeting, Sidibe underscored UNAIDS’ commitment to supporting countries to achieve their universal access goal.
