UNAIDS, NGOs partner to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Africa

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe in New York on Monday signed a partnership agreement with several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) pledging to work towards eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Africa, Agence France-Presse reports. Presidents Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda attended the signing ceremony.

"Signatories include Columbia University's Earth Institute led by leading U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs and the Millennium Promise Alliance, an advocacy group pushing for implementation of the" Millennium Development Goals in Africa, the news service writes. The agreement, "signed as world leaders gathered here for this week's U.N. General Assembly session, aims to accelerate action on HIV/AIDS and 'correct the glaring inequality' faced by children in the face of the scourge … Sidibe told a press conference." According to Sidibe, each year more than 300,000 babies are born HIV positive, "most of them in Africa and 30 percent of them died before their first birthday, he added."

The agreement aims to prevent women from acquiring HIV, prevent unintended pregnancies, prevent the mother-to-child transmission of the virus and offer services to women and children affected by the disease (9/21). A UNAIDS press release provides additional information on the specifics of programs working to achieve the goals of the agreement (9/21).