Source: Xperedon
A number of non-profit orgs and their partners are revealing evidence that the battle against Aids/HIV is starting to be won on several fronts...

The introduction of Prevention of Mother-to-Child-Transmission (PMTCT) programmes across Africa is leading to a sharp decline in mother to child infections.

In South Africa since the introduction of the initiatives infection rates have dropped to under four per cent of babies born with HIV, compared to previously a third who had been infected from their mothers.

With the backing of the South African government, US aid agency USAID says it has invested billions of dollars into South African HIV and Aids projects over the last decade...

UNAIDS representatives also recently visited Zimbabwe and paid tribute to the progress at rolling back Aids/HIV there, at the launch of the GlobalPOWER Women Network Africa in Harare on May 24.

UNAIDS reports "a significant reduction of adult HIV prevalence and a steady decline in the number of new HIV infections."

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé has commended the inroads of the Government of Zimbabwe that has achieved one of the sharpest declines in HIV prevalence in Southern Africa, from 27 per cent in 1997 to just over 14 per cent in 2010.

UNAIDS reports Zimbabwe expanding coverage of antiretroviral drugs among adults, from 15 per cent in 2007 to 80 per cent in 2010. At the close of 2011, nearly half a million people in the country were receiving vital HIV treatment and care...

A key factor in the progress there has also been the increase in the number of sites providing PMTCT services, doubling in recent years, from 920 in 2008 to 1,560 in 2010.

According to the World Health Organisation 2011: Global HIV/Aids response report, an estimated 86 per cent of HIV-positive expecting women received antiretroviral drugs in 2010, in contrast to 17 per cent in 2008...

UNAIDS has applauded the role of community centres that mix health, food and social services...

The reports from Zimbabwe follows research from the University of British Colombia and BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/Aids in Canada that says patients taking HIV/Aids drugs in Uganda can expect to have a near-normal lifespan.

The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/Aids in Canada woks with international partners such as International AIDS Society (IAS), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS), the World Health Organisation and Medecins Sans Frontieres...

According to the org's findings Ugandans aged 14 and over who had initiated antiretroviral therapy between 2000 and 2009 were statistically likely to live on an additional 27 years, and at the age of 35 for another 28 years.

The discoveries suggest the global investment in HIV and Aids programmes is working, however despite the results more progress is clearly still needed...

There are more than 34 million people living with HIV/Aids worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation, most in sub-Saharan Africa where not enough programmes and interventions are getting through.

Medecins Sans Frontieres reported early this year that in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): 85 per cent of Aids patients are deprived of treatment...

The international non-profit is concerned by the state of HIV/Aids patients in the DRC and concerned by the low urgency given to treatment and prevention services by authorities; and also the pulling out of donors.

Medecins Sans Frontieres also identifies the lack of investment in effective drug treatment as well as the high cost of treatments as an obstruction to progress in many countries.

Better availability of proven drugs is part of the answer however the drugs are not a 100 per cent magic cure so more investment in research to develop further progress is also seen as crucial.

However, the success of PMTCT strategies that are part of UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and are actively supported by international government agencies and non-profits including World Vision, UNICEF, Africare and numerous others, are clearly showing that the long battle to eliminate the scourge of Aids/HIV in developing countries can be won.

As long as the global-wide commitments are forthcoming and the right amount of resources is made available...