When Gopti Irene, a single and pregnant mother from Cameroon, discovered she was HIV-positive, a sense of loss and desperation came over her. But those feelings began to subside after she learned about available treatments and ways to prevent transmission of the disease to her baby.

“I am very grateful for the services I received, like counseling, teaching me how to make baby formula, and transportation to clinics,” says Gopti. “If it weren’t for these services, I would not be alive today.”

According to UNICEF, every day, more than 1,100 children under the age of 15 are infected with HIV, most as a result of mother-to-child transmission of the virus. Of these cases, approximately 50 percent occur during delivery and more than 30 percent during breastfeeding. The majority of these infections take place in Africa.

Since 2003, Johnson & Johnson has partnered with organizations such as the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) to support HIV-infected women. The Foundation provides counseling for pregnant women, encourages HIV/AIDS testing, and refers women to additional care if their results are positive. Additionally, the Foundation partners with local health workers to provide antiretrovirals (ARVs) to women and their infants before and directly after birth to help prevent infants from becoming infected during delivery.

Over the last 7 years, more than 1.9 million pregnant women in 11 countries have been reached with counseling, and 1.7 million women have received HIV testing as a result of the partnership between EGPAF and Johnson & Johnson.

“We’ve shown that this can work in the most remote and under-resourced settings,” says Trish Karlin, vice president of programs for the Foundation. “Preventing the infection and offering treatment to families is extremely important because these children really don’t have a chance of survival unless you deliver the care that they need."


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www.pedaids.org