THE ROTARY Club of North Worcestershire has donated £500 to the global charity Mothers to Mothers which is aimed at eliminating paediatric AIDS.
Great strides have been made in the campaign over the last decade but more than 400 babies are still infected with HIV globally each day.
Most of the youngsters live in sub-Saharan Africa and most acquire the virus during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.
Effective and inexpensive medicines are available to can keep mums and babies healthy.
Up to 40 per cent of infants born to HIV-positive mothers will contract the virus and with treatment has the potential to substantially reduce that number.
Health centres in sub-Saharan Africa are severely understaffed, leaving doctors and nurses with only minutes to give a pregnant woman her HIV diagnosis and explain all of the drugs and tests she must adhere to in order to keep herself healthy and protect her baby from HIV.
The stigma of HIV in many African communities causes women to live in fear, making it difficult for them to get the care they need.
The charity trains, employs, and empowers local mothers living with HIV as frontline healthcare workers within the communities to provide health education on how they can protect their babies from HIV infection.
