Chevron announced today at the 2012 International AIDS Conference (AIDS
2012) a partnership initiative with Pact, the Business Leadership
Council (BLC), mothers2mothers and the Global Fund to aggressively
combat crisis-level mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Nigeria,
Angola and South Africa.
"We must intensify our collective efforts to meet the serious challenges
to eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV head-on," said Rhonda
Zygocki, Executive Vice President, Policy and Planning for Chevron. "We
are mobilizing resources and strategic partners with specialized
expertise to address critical issues facing Nigeria, Angola and South
Africa in order to move toward an HIV-free generation by 2015."
The risk of mother-to-child transmission is an unfortunate reality in
these countries. In Nigeria, approximately 75,000 babies are born with
HIV each year, and most of these infections are due to transmission from
their mothers. In South Africa, the country has the largest number of
people living with HIV in the world, and approximately 30 percent of
pregnant women were HIV-positive in 2009. Additionally in Angola, where
more than 60 percent of the population is under 25 years old, an
estimated 15 percent of the country's HIV cases are caused by
mother-to-child transmission.
"As a company, we depend on a healthy society and healthy workforce,"
Zygocki said. "With HIV/AIDS disproportionately affecting women in
Africa, it is critical that we come together in the fight against this
disease. At Chevron, we recognize prevention of mother-to-child
transmission (PMTCT) of HIV as both a critical intervention for the
families of our employees and the communities where they work, as well
as a realistic approach to the elimination of HIV entirely."
The PMTCT partnership areas of focus include:
-
Pact: Build the capacity of civil society organizations to
increase PMTCT practices in Nigeria's Bayelsa State through education,
raising awareness and reducing stigma.
-
BLC: Support the government of Nigeria to develop and implement
models for accelerated PMTCT delivery over the next two years.
-
mothers2mothers: Lay the groundwork to establish its Mentor
Mother model in Nigeria during the next 18 months.
-
The Global Fund: Advance PMTCT programs targeting Angola and
South Africa.
This partnership is part of the $20 million commitment made by Chevron
in June 2011 at the United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS to support
the global plan to eliminate new HIV infections among children by 2015
and keep their mothers alive.