On Tuesday, September 23, representatives from the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) took a break from the United Nations General Assembly to meet with UNAIDS, the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPFF) and Alere, one of the world’s leaders in HIV testing technologies, to discuss intensifying efforts to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis throughout Africa.
Last week, representatives from the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) met at NYC’s Ford Foundation during the U.N. General Assembly for a workshop and conference on ending the epidemic. |
At the event, several African first ladies took to the stage to pledge to end the AIDS epidemic in their countries by 2030 through increasing access to HIV testing, care and treatment among women and children, and to help ensure that no babies are born with the virus by 2015.
Hinda Deby, the first lady of the Republic of Chad and president of OAFLA, takes the podium to discuss the organization’s plan to end mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and syphilis. |
- In sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 260,000 babies are infected with HIV every year.
- Nearly 40 percent of pregnant women living with HIV around the world do not receive antiretroviral treatment to reduce their chances of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) during pregnancy.
- Without any health interventions, it is estimated that 45 percent of HIV-positive mothers will infect their children with HIV, which can also be transmitted during labor, childbirth and through breast-feeding.
Representatives from OAFLA, UNAIDS, the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF) and Alere meet over lunch to discuss their new multinational partnership. |
For more information about OAFLA’s pledge to end AIDS in Africa, click here.
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