Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 3/17/2004

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U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

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CONTENT:

1 - BURUNDI: First lady launches HIV/AIDS initiative

1 - BURUNDI: First lady launches HIV/AIDS initiative

BUJUMBURA, 17 March (PLUSNEWS) - Burundian first lady Aude Ndayizeye

launched on Wednesday the country's chapter of the African Synergy against

HIV/AIDS and Suffering, an initiative of the first ladies of African

countries, with an headquarters in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Under the initiative, activities focusing on the prevention of HIV

infection from mother-to-child would be undertaken, Ndayizeye said in the

capital, Bujumbura. She added that mother-to-child HIV infection was

second to infection through sexual intercourse in the spread of the

disease.

She said figures on Burundi's mother-to-child HIV infections were

alarming. " Studies conducted to date show that 20 percent of pregnant

women in urban areas and 6 percent in rural areas are HIV positive, the

majority are discovered to be HIV positive during pre-natal consultation, "

she said.

She added that in Bujumbura, 1,200 out of 6,000 pregnancies annually were

found HIV positive and at least 480 babies were born HIV positive ever

year. She said these statistics on HIV/AIDS infections ought to serve as

reminders to the public to take responsibility and stop the spread of the

pandemic.

She appealed to the government and its development partners as well as

other actors in the fight against HIV/AIDS to increase their efforts to

protect children exposed to HIV by providing antiretroviral drugs (ARVs)

right from birth.

Recent studies by the ministry in charge of HIV/AIDS show that if a

pregnant women is put on an ARV treatment, the chances of the baby getting

infected are reduced from 25 percent to 8 percent. The ministry announced

recently that it would provide healthcare in 2004 for 1,000 HIV positive

pregnant women, up from 550 in 2003.

[ENDS]

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