Free-to-Shine Campaign needs our support

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the transmission of HIV from a HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding is called mother-to-child transmission.

It said in the absence of any intervention, transmission rates range from 15 per cent to 45 per cent.

This rate, the WHO indicated could be reduced to below 5 per cent with effective interventions during the periods of pregnancy, labour, delivery and breastfeeding.

These interventions primarily involve antiretroviral treatment for the mother and a short course of drugs for the baby.  They include measures to prevent HIV acquisition in the pregnant women and appropriate breastfeeding practices.

Available statistics indicate that although there has been some progress in antiretroviral coverage for children in West and Central Africa, which rose from 18 per cent in 2014 to 26 per cent in 2017, the region still had the lowest coverage in the world.

Around 52,000 children and adolescents aged between 0 and 19 years died of AIDS related illnesses in 2017, with 34,000 dying before reaching their fifth birthday.

According to the statistics, less than half of all pregnant women living with HIV in the region – 47 per cent had access to antiretroviral medicines to prevent transmission of the virus to their child and only 21 per cent of infants exposed to HIV were tested for the virus within the first two months of life.

In Ghana, nearly 160,000 expected pregnancies in 2017, 71 per cent tested for HIV out of which only 67 per cent received antiretroviral treatment to prevent mother-to – child transmission.

It is against this backdrop that we welcome the launch of the Free-to-shine Campaign towards elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV by the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo.

The campaign which is part of the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA) initiative, is a continental and national enterprise which seeks to end AIDS in children and keep mothers living with HIV alive and healthy.

The Ghanaian Times believes that the campaign deserves the support of all if the country is to make any progress in eliminating AIDS among children and mothers.

The statistics do not look good.  The rate of transmission we are told are high and that does not augur well for the future of children in the country.

However, we are more than convinced that through the campaign and support from the government and stakeholders, mother-to-child transmission of HIV should be reduced drastically.

We commend the First Lady and her colleagues across the continent for their commitment in the fight against the deadly disease.

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