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Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative

President George W. Bush announces a new Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative in the Rose Garden June 19. Standing by the President from, left to right, are Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson and Secretary of State Colin Powell.
 President George W. Bush announces a new Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative in the Rose Garden June 19. Standing by the President from, left to right, are Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson and Secretary of State Colin Powell.

NEWS: Speeches and Releases

  • President Promotes New Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative
  • Remarks by the President During Announcement of Proposal for Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis

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  • Office of National AIDS Policy
  • USAID
  • Centers for Disease Control

    • MULTIMEDIA: Video and Audio President Promotes New Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative
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    Remarks by the President During Announcement of Proposal for Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis
         listenListen to the President's Remarks

    Today's Presidential Action

    President Bush announced a new $500 million International Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative that seeks to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mothers to infants and to improve health care delivery in Africa and the Caribbean.

    Through a combination of improving care and drug treatment and building the healthcare delivery capacity, this new effort is expected to reach up to one million women annually and reduce mother to child transmission by forty percent within five years or less in twelve African countries and the Caribbean.

    This Initiative will complement the efforts of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and represents the next essential step in the global struggle against AIDS.

    The International Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative

    The Initiative focuses on treatment and care for HIV infected pregnant women to reduce transmission of HIV/AIDS to infants.

    The Initiative is focused in two areas: (1) increasing the availability of preventive care, including drug treatments; and (2) building healthcare delivery systems to reach as many women as possible with the care they need.

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    Increasing Preventive Treatment & Care
    baby breastfeeding Administering combination antiretroviral therapy, administering a single dose of nevirapine, providing care and treatment, and supporting safer breastfeeding practices.

    Building Healthcare Delivery Systems baby with blue blanket Pairing U.S. hospitals and clinics with African and Caribbean counterparts, attracting, recruiting and helping place volunteer medical professionals, and supporting NGOs and governments to help expand existing activities.

    Background on Today's Presidential Action
    baby with big eyes Worldwide, over 2 million women with HIV give birth each year, resulting in 720,000 babies who are infected with HIV during the mother's pregnancy, during birth or through breastfeeding.

    President Bush's Commitment to Halting the Spread of HIV/AIDS
    President George W. Bush welcomes UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to the podium after his announcement of Presidential HIV/AIDS Trust Fund Initiative as Nigerian President Olusegun Obsanjo looks on at left in the Rose Garden, Friday, May 11. WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY ERIC DRAPER In FY 2002, the United States is providing $988 million for global HIV/AIDS assistance -- a 36% increase over FY 2001.