The United Nations’ joint programmes on HIV/AIDS has released a report detailing that between 2009 and 2012, 24,000 fewer children were infected with the virus. While there was a decrease of 38% across priority countries, translating to 130,000 fewer infections. UNAIDS executive director, Michel Sidibe said:

The progress in the majority of these countries is a strong signal that, with focused efforts, every child can be born free from HIV.

This is strong progress for the country, as Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said at a recent conference in Durban:

We are on the correct track; people living with HIV are living longer … thirty years after the discovery of the HI virus, the world stands at a critical point where we seem tantalisingly close to declaring victory.

The United Nations provided similar sentiments and the agency said:

Strong political leadership and commitment has been translated into clear results for the people affected.

There is more good news, the number of pregnant HIV-positive women receiving antiretroviral treatment is also increasing. The medicine prevents the virus from being transmitted from mother to child while also improving their health. Other countries like Botswana, Ghana, Namibia and Zambia have reached their goal of providing 90% of pregnant women with treatment to prevent the virus being transmitted from mother to child.

But only half of breastfeeding mothers infected with HIV are receiving antiretrovirals to prevent transmission between mother and child. UNAIDS mentions the urgency for increased treatment to be provided to mothers who are breastefeeding as it has been proven to be an integral part in child survival. Sidibe said:

Progress has stalled in some countries with high numbers of new HIV infections. We need to find out why and remove the bottlenecks which are preventing scale-up [of treatment].

Despite some good results we should “not become complacent because … much more remains to be done” echoed the United Nations in a separate report.

[Source: Health24]