Born Free of HIV in West Africa

  "Cet enfant que vous voyez n’a rien par ce que j’ai commencé à prendre des medicaments au cours de la grossesse."

"This child that you see on my lap is HIV free because I learned to take medication duing my pregnancy", an HIV+ patient in a pink dress explained to me at the Hope Center Clinic. After losing one daughter to HIV infections, it must have felt like a miracle to give birth to a son who is safe from the virus.

Our HIV+ patients are the best teachers we could provide the community, because they hold the proof in their arms that our program is 100% effective.

Another one of our patients, a girl born with HIV who is quickly growing into a bright young woman spoke of her desire to educate others about HIV,

The advice that I would give you if you were HIV+ is to make sure that you don't go out and infect other. You can get tested and protect yourself. People need to understand that AIDS is not a mean disease.

Unfortunately, due to crippling stigma that HIV+ people face in Mali, it is not easyfor our brave patients to go out and share theirs stories.

We need to continue our community outreach efforts and encourage new patients to adhere to their medication and the Mother to Child Transmission Prevention program (MTCTP) that we have created at Hope Center Clinic. In July, a national program was launched in Mali to eliminate mother to child transmission over the next five years. This is an ambitious plan, but GAIA has proven that with adherance to our program, 100% HIV free births are possible.

Thank you for your continued support, and please help us gain momentum as we continue this fight!

Links:

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