U.N. Sets Out To Stop Mother-Child HIV Infections

The voices of the hopeless may have finally been heard.

Just in time for the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the tragic disease, world leaders at the U.N. AIDS summit have hatched a plan to eliminate anymore HIV infections in newborn children from their infected mother.

Providing HIV-positive pregnant women with treatment can reduce the risk of a child being born with the virus to less than 5 percent, so with that in mind, the campaign aims to reduce the number of child infections 90% by 2015.

The initiative is being led by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the UNAIDS organization, which said in a statement:

“We believe that by 2015 children everywhere can be born free of HIV and that their mothers can remain healthy.”

$500 million a year is currently being dedicated to funding the prevention of mother-child HIV transmission, but the new resolution to begin the end of the disease calls for $2.5 billion more to achieve the goal in 3 years.

We’re happy to see that countries all over the world are finally joining for forces and funds to put a stop a disease which has over 9 million people waiting for treatment.

While there is still no cure, amazing leaps in treatment options over the last few years have saved millions and we believe this new initiative will continue that trend.

[Image via AP Images.]