HIV Positive Mothers Rise from Despair to Hope

The joy Ling felt when she discovered she was pregnant soon turned to sadness when an antenatal check revealed that she was HIV positive. Eleven days after the baby arrived another harsh blow struck when the young woman's husband died of AIDS.

"It was like the heaven collapsed and crushed my whole body. My mind is filled with the tears that never dry up," the 26-year-old woman said. The most blessed thing was that she gave birth to a healthy boy, thanks to UNICEF-supported Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) project.

Ling said the four-year-old son looked like his father, especially his beautiful clear eyes. "I tell him that his father died of a disease, but I never specify what disease it was, nor do I tell him about my disease. But he knows I need to take medicine and if I forget, he will say to me, 'If you don't have medicine, you will die and I will have no mother.'" She smiled.

PMTCT is accomplished by giving the HIV positive mother anti-viral treatment during the antenatal period, performing a caesarean section during delivery and exclusive artificial feeding for newborns provided the formula can be safely prepared and sustainable.

Since the programme was started in 2004 in Dehong Prefecture, one of the HIV/AIDS high prevalence areas in Yunnan Province, 38 mothers have delivered babies whose HIV virus tests confirmed they had become HIV negative by the age of two, according to Ms. Tang Quanyu, a local All-China Women's Federation officer.

Bordering Myanmar in Yunnan province, Dehong Prefecture is located near the Golden Triangle, one of Asia's two main illicit opium-producing areas. In 1989, the prefecture first reported 146 HIV patients among drug users. By September 2007, the official cumulative number of AIDS cases in Yunnan Province stood at over 56,000, accounting for about 25% of the total cases in China, the highest among all the provinces. Experts estimated that the actual HIV positive population of the province was more than 80,000.

Early discovery of the HIV virus in mothers during the antenatal period and early intervention were the keys to reducing the transmission, experts said.

"Before UNICEF provided traffic allowance, it was hard for us to identify and visit the HIV positive women in remote villages. It's better for them to come voluntarily to us to receive consultancy and medical support. Now I am receiving more patients." Ms. Yang Yuyan, programme director of the county Maternal Child Healthcare Hospital. She has been working on PMTCT since 2005.

The consultancy was free of charge and the family could get free milk powder, eggs, Vitamin A and other nutritional supplements. UNICEF provided allowance for their traffic which encouraged more HIV positive couples to seek consultancy from the doctors.

UNICEF also provided transport for local health workers to help them reach hard-to-access villages to provide follow-up checks for newborns and postpartum women.

"The women and children living with AIDS need respect and also the income generation skills to survive." Ms. Tang Quanyu said.

Since 2006, Ling received UNICEF micro credit loans and skill training. She raised pigs and planted sugarcanes and coffee trees. She also opened a grocery shop last year. Now the family is able to earn an annual net income of more than RMB 6,000, or 900 US dollars, about triple of that of before.

"The first time I stepped into Ling's house, all I saw was a wretched and despondent woman with tears streaming down her face." Ms. Tang said. "Now, I see someone whose face is blossoming with smiles. And I have witnessed many women rising from despair to hope."

Note: All the names of the affected women and children are changed in this article.