HYDERABAD: The danger of innocent babies being born with the HIV virus, passed onto them in the womb by their mothers, has spurred the Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS) into taking up a tough task to save these babies.

Post March 2007, the Society does not want any baby in the State to be born with the virus.

Easier said than done, admits APSACS project director G. Ashok Kumar. "But then, leaving infants to suffer for no fault of theirs is not humane. We have to do something," he says.

The first steps have already been taken. These include roping in the Telugu Network of HIV Positive People (TNP+) and starting a project to provide paediatric dosages of Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) at Government hospitals in the State.

The campaign to stop babies being born with HIV and the paediatric ART project will both be the first of their kind in the country, says Mr. Kumar.

According to APSACS statistics, two or three out of every 100 pregnant women in the State are HIV carriers. Hitherto the virus was passed on to their babies.

"By March 31 2007, if we can get all these women tested for HIV and ensure that they take all the prescribed care and medicines, a major part of the job will be done," Mr. Kumar feels.

Hospital deliveries

"Then we will have to ensure 100 per cent institutional deliveries, i.e., to make sure that these mothers deliver only in a hospital," he says.

Paediatric ART centres, which even the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) is yet to begin officially, will supply the costly paediatric formulation of the critical therapy to children. As of now, children infected with HIV are being given smaller doses of the therapy meant for adults. The paediatric ART centres will be launched in November.

A major role in APSACS's campaign and project will be played by the TNP+, which has units in all 23 districts in the State.

"What started with seven members in 2003 now has over 30,000 members. And with people with HIV being the best way to reach out to more of them, the Network will have a key role in our endeavour," Mr. Kumar says.

Members of the Network assisted by Anganwadi workers and auxiliary-nursing midwives will identify pregnant women who are HIV positive, counsel them on the importance of taking precautions and ensure that they go to a hospital for the delivery.

They will also identify the children who require ART and guide them to the therapy centres.

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