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US provides $60 million to Zim's efforts to eliminate Mother to
Child Transmission of HIV
US
Embassy
February 13, 2013
Through the
U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has
awarded a five-year, $60 million grant (2012-2017) to Families and
Communities for the Elimination of Pediatric HIV (FACE-Pediatric
HIV), a locally-led consortium, to support the Ministry of Health
and Child Welfare's national Prevention of Mother to Child
Transmission (PMTCT) program. The goal of the Ministry's program
is to eliminate new HIV infections in children and improve the survival
of mothers and children.
On February
13, Zimbabwean Minister of Health Henry Madzorera and U.S. Ambassador
Bruce Wharton will launch this new project at Harare Hospital. The
purpose of this project is to reduce the rate of mother to child
HIV transmission from 14% to less than 5% by 2015, and to provide
90% of HIV positive pregnant women with life-long antiretroviral
therapy. The project will reach approximately 350,000 HIV-positive
pregnant women per year through continued support to approximately
90% of Zimbabwe's antenatal care facilities.
Commenting on
the importance of the program, U.S. Ambassador Bruce Wharton noted,
"No country in the world can grow and develop without a commitment
to improving the health of its citizens. From the U.S. to Zimbabwe,
it is a fundamental government imperative to work towards ever improving
health standards starting at birth. This program will address an
urgent need faced by mothers across this country and give a healthy
start on life to thousands of new-born babies."
Currently, less
than 80% of all HIV-positive pregnant women in Zimbabwe receive
anti-retroviral prophylaxis (ARV) treatment to reduce the risk of
transmitting HIV from mother to child. Challenges remain to ensure
that HIV-positive mothers in need of treatment adhere to life-long
anti-retroviral treatment (ART), that all infants born to HIV-positive
women are tested for HIV within two months of birth, and that families
receive these test results.
The FACE-Pediatric
HIV Consortium is led by the local charitable trust Organization
for Public Health Interventions and Development (OPHID). The Consortium
includes the J.F.
Kapnek Trust, the Southern
Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS),
and the Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF). The
FACE-Pediatric HIV Consortium brings together a wide range of technical
expertise with over ten years' experience in designing, implementing
and leveraging support for HIV prevention, care and treatment.
The U.S. government,
through PEPFAR and various agencies including the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID), provides broad support for Zimbabwe
to address HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, and other health challenges. In
addition to supporting the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis,
and Malaria, the U.S. Government is a leading provider of bilateral
HIV/AIDS assistance to Zimbabwe and has committed to providing nearly
US$95 million over the next year to support critical prevention,
care, and treatment interventions through PEPFAR (the U.S. President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief). Since 2000, the United States government
has invested nearly $300 million in Zimbabwe's fight against
HIV/AIDS.
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