[health-vn] UNAIDS failed to advocate for Children and Mothers

[Vern Weitzel]

Note: I am not responsible for the content. I only post news. You are
free to comment upon it. Vern

Subject: 	[AIDS ASIA] UNAIDS failed to advocate for Children and Mothers
Date: 	Thu, 21 May 2009 18:03:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: 	AIDS ASIA<AIDS_ASIA at yahoogroups.com>
Reply-To: 	AIDS_ASIA at yahoogroups.com
To: 	AIDS ASIA <aids_asia at yahoogroups.com>


AIDS spreads to infants as most mothers fail to get treatments

By Marilyn Chase. BLOOMBERG NEWS

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.21.2009

Drugs that prevent HIV in infants don't get to two-thirds of infected
expectant mothers, leading the virus to spread to 370,000 newborns a
year, a treatment advocacy group said.

Only 33 percent of pregnant women with HIV, the human immunodeficiency
virus that causes AIDS, receive antivirals, a strategy proven 15 years
ago to block mother-to-child transmission of the disease, said a report
released today from the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition.
The group blamed governments and global health groups for poor
coordination, funding gaps and valuing "wealthy women over poor," said
Stephen Lewis, founder of AIDS-Free World and co- author of the report's
preface.

Approximately 33 million people in the world have HIV/AIDS and 2.7
million people a year become infected, according to the United Nations.
In the most hard-hit countries, AIDS has shortened life expectancy by 20
years, plunged households into poverty and left behind 12 million
orphans, the UN said.

"Donors talk the talk, but don't walk the walk," said coalition leader
Gregg Gonsalves in an e-mail. "For millions of women, maternal and child
health is about HIV/AIDS and we have failed them."

A top AIDS official at the UN, a target of criticism in the report,
agreed with many of its findings.

"There has been some progress," said Michel Sidibe, executive director
of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, in an e-mail.

"Overall coverage is still very low for this proven, inexpensive and
effective intervention."

Least Expensive Treatment

Most women with access to prevention get the cheapest possible regimen
for themselves and their babies — a single pill of the Boehringer
Ingelheim GmbH drug nevirapine, according to the report. Nevirapine cuts
transmission to babies by 40 percent and may also spark the rise of
drug-resistant strains of the AIDS virus, the report said.

Boehringer provides the drug free for mother-to-child prevention in
developing countries, and sells the drug for as little as 60 cents a day
to treat those in poor nations who already have the disease, according
to the German company