Geeta, 24, is seven months pregnant and is grossly underweight. She and her husband are HIV positive. Her husband believes he got infected through blood transfusions during a surgery. “I want my child to be HIV negative like my first child,” she says.

It is estimated that 6,500 children are born every year with HIV in India. One-third of them die before their first birthday and half of them do not get to see their second.

National AIDS Control Organisation or NACO’s programme, launched 14 years ago, gives hope to these women.
According to some estimates, 38,000 HIV positive women get pregnant every year but only 14,000 of them get diagnosed and treated. Since the rate of transmission is 15 to 45 per cent, it is estimated that 13,000 babies are born with HIV every year and only 6,500 are likely to get diagnosed and treated. To eliminate transmission of HIV from mother to child, India needs to bridge this gap.

The NACO Programme provides utmost care to the women during pregnancy and childbirth. From a blood pin prick screening to counselling to antiretroviral therapy, tests and drug course, the holistic programme takes good care of mother and child’s health.

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