Prevent HIV transmission frommother to child

The ignorance surrounding HIV and AIDS is terrifying but very present.
Did you know that:
More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.
Africa has 12 million AIDS orphans.

AVERT - a UK based AIDS charity has a campaign in order to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child. Please take a second and read the following to increase your awareness about the issues surrounding AIDS and how you can help!

What is the problem?
380,000 children die of AIDS every year. If nothing is done then more than 1 million will die by 2010.

Can this be prevented?
Yes, it can. The vast majority of these child deaths can be prevented by stopping the transmission of HIV from mothers to their babies. If babies don’t become infected with HIV then they won’t develop AIDS and die.

What is the target of the Stop AIDS in Children campaign?
We are asking for urgent efforts to be made to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to baby, so that by 2010, the number of children dying of AIDS will have been halved.

How can transmission of HIV from mother to baby be prevented?
Any baby born to a mother with HIV risks becoming infected during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. The chance of this happening can be massively reduced by giving HIV infected mothers and their babies anti-HIV drugs and, where appropriate, by feeding the baby using formula rather than breast milk.

These interventions are known as the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission or “PMTCT”. Without these interventions, around one in three babies born to women with HIV will become infected with HIV themselves.