Efforts to fight mother-to-child HIV transmission making an impact.

2002 NOV 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Congress has been told that existing public-private partnerships to prevent mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in resource-poor countries have demonstrated success and can be rapidly expanded if adequate resources are made available.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation shared updated results that were presented at the recent World AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain, on its Call to Action Project, a public-private partnership active in 17 nations and more than 250 sites. The new data continue to show that the program is reaching high proportions of pregnant women, and many of these women are receiving life-saving drug interventions that prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

A group of experts, including Kate Carr, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation; John Wecker, HIV specialist, Boehringer Ingelheim; Rick Moser, divisional vice president, international policy, Abbott Laboratories; and Jack Galbraith, president and CEO of the Catholic Medical Mission Board, emphasized to Congress that the unique public-private collaboration is ready to scale up activities throughout the world if adequate public and private resources are available and health infrastructures are improved.

"The magnitude of the global pandemic demands creative approaches and an all-out effort by governments, corporations and NGOs [nongovernmental organizations]," said Carr. "The Foundation's strong progress to date in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV has been accomplished through outstanding collaborations and partnerships. With continued strong support from public and private partners, we are ready to scale up these programs where they are urgently needed - in Africa and throughout the world."

The key private sector partners are Boehringer Ingelheim and Abbott Laboratories, who were both represented at the briefing. Boehringer Ingelheim is the maker of Viramune (nevirapine), a drug used to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in resource-poor nations. Abbott Laboratories is the manufacturer of the Determine HIV rapid test kit used in many programs to prevent MTCT. Both companies are donating their products in numerous locations throughout the developing world. This combined effort enables pregnant women at these locations to know their HIV status and receive nevirapine if needed to prevent MTCT.

"Boehringer Ingelheim is pleased to be donating Viramune for use in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission in the developing world," said Wecker, Boehringer Ingelheim. "Since starting this program over 2 years ago, we have learned that the free availability of Viramune by itself is not enough. A basic package of health care services must also be in place in order for any country or group to take advantage of the donation offer. In many parts of the developing world, establishing even this basic package requires many different partners working together, each contributing according to their unique expertise."

"Abbott believes the partnership approach is critically important to the success of the global prevention of mother-to-child transmission effort," said Moser, Abbott Laboratories. "This model allows us to add our resources to others' efforts and emphasize the different strengths of each partner. Our experience makes us strong believers that partnership and cooperation between all social sectors are the only ways to meet a challenge as immense and complex as this plague of AIDS."