IAS stresses universal access to HIV services for improving maternal and child health

At the U.N. Millennium Development Goals summit in New York this week, the International AIDS Society called on governments and donors to continue funding maternal and child HIV service programs.

Continued universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for pregnant women and young children is key to reducing mother and child deaths and improving the cultural standing of women in the developing world, according to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

At the end of the summit, $40 billion were pledged by governments, businesses and aid organizations, including increased contributions from Canada, France, Japan, Norway and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

In a speech on the final day of the summit, U.S. President Barack Obama said that the United States would increase resources to the Global Fund.

“World leaders have recognized that maternal and child health is a prerequisite for achieving all other millennium development goals,” said Mats Ahnlund, Acting Executive Director of the IAS. “We must now make governments and donors accept that universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care, a commitment that was made by world leaders back in 2005 and which has not been met, is a fundamental building block for maternal and child health.”

Follow the PediatricSuperSite.com on Twitter.