Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS.

• Position: Brief Article

As many as a quarter of pregnant women in some African countries are infected with the HIV virus. This two-year $3 million project, bringing UNICEF together with WHO, UNAIDS and the corporate sector, shows that HIV/AIDS testing and counselling in seven countries (Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) are feasible and cost-effective. Some 21,000 pregnant women will receive AZT (zidovudine) treatment (provided by Glaxo-Wellcome), whose normal cost inhibits widespread use in many countries, and 49,000 women will also benefit from enhanced antenatal testing and counselling services. This is helping to demonstrate that such treatment can prevent infant...