Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Remains a Significant Burden

Lynne Mofenson, MD, Senior HIV Technical Advisor, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Washington, DC, United States shares an update on the health burden of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability):

“HIV remains a significant burden in children. There are about 1.4 million HIV-infected women who give birth every year. We have managed to decrease mother-to-child transmission significantly. In 1999, half a million children were born infected [with HIV] that year alone. With our current interventions, however, in 2015 [that number] had decreased to 150,000 infected children. That sounds good, but that [number still equates to] 400 infected children born every day, and so we still have a way to go."