A Generation Born Free of HIV

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Aiswarya Rai Bachchan, newly appointed International Goodwill Ambassador, along with Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Credit: Mathieu Vaas/IPS

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 24 2012 (IPS) - “No child should be born with HIV; no child should be an orphan because of HIV; and no child should die due to lack of access to treatment,” said Ebube Sylvia Taylor, a 11-year-old Nigerian born-free of HIV from affected parents, to world leaders gathered in New York back in 2010 in the context of the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targeted for 2015.

But the reality was different. While in high-income countries the number of new HIV infections and maternal or child deaths due to HIV is virtually zero, 370 000 children became newly infected with HIV and 42 000 to 60 000 pregnant women died from HIV in 2009, according to UNAIDS.

Aiswarya Rai Bachchan, the Indian movie icon and newly appointed International Goodwill Ambassador, along with Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), held a press conference Monday focusing on the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive.

UNAIDS chose Bachchan as Goodwill Ambassador because “she is articulate, she is committed, and she is also looking for a goal which can be remembered, and this goal is that one: we want today, and that in 2015 we will not have any child born with HIV,” said Sidibé.

Bachchan told reporters: “I am honoured to accept this appointment. Spreading awareness on health issues, especially related to women and children, has always been a priority for me. And now, as a new mother, I can personally relate to this – the joys and concerns of every mother and the hope that we have for our children.”

“I strongly believe that every baby should be born free from HIV. And I wish that every woman living with HIV stays healthy and has access to treatment. I promise that with UNAIDS, I will do my utmost to make this happen,” she added.

Bachchan’s mandate will be to advocate the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive – a UN initiative launched in June 2011 – and which focuses on 22 countries, including India, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of all new HIV infections among children.