>Field visit with Melinda Gates (January 26 / 27, 2010)

Ambassadress for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy will be arriving in Benin on Tuesday, January 26 for a 24-hour visit in the company of Melinda Gates. The Gates Foundation, of which Melinda Gates is Joint Chairman, fights disease and illiteracy in the countries of the South. In 2006, the Gates Foundation donated 500 million dollars, spread over five years, to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. According to estimates made by the PNLS (national fund to fight AIDS) in 2007, some 1.2% of the population of Benin is seropositive.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Melinda Gates met with women and children at a health facility to witness efforts being made to prevent the transmission of the disease from HIV-positive mothers to their children.

Mrs. Bruni-Sarkozy said, “Today the fight against AIDS is benefitting the health of mothers and children overall. That’s why it is crucial that we strengthen our efforts, and continue to educate women about their health. If we do this, we can eliminate the transmission of HIV from mother to child.”

“The Global Fund is saving lives by providing life-saving tools, from HIV drugs to basic childhood vaccines, to those who need them most, but continued support from donor nations and other partners is needed to sustain their efforts, “ said Melinda French Gates.

They visited l’Auberge de l’Amour Rédempteur in Dangbo, in the Ouémé Region, which offers a full range of maternity and general medical services, and benefits from Global Fund financing for antiretroviral and other HIV-related medicines, HIV testing, medical personnel and training of health workers.

“Benin has made tremendous progress in the fight against AIDS and is scaling up major efforts to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child,” said Prof. Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “I am delighted that Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Melinda Gates have come to Benin to visit Global Fund-supported programs. They are giving a strong voice for the needs of mothers and children.”

The pandemic affects primarily young people, truck-drivers and prostitutes.

Some 1.5% of women are infected with the virus, compared to 0.8% of men – among pregnant women, the prevalence rate is 2%.

More than 6,600 seropositive women give birth every year. Benin has set up a wide-ranging mother-and-child protection program, the PTME, to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus. It includes a range of services for pregnant women including detection of the virus and treatment for seropositive women (prophylactic treatment using anti-retroviral drugs (ARV) during pregnancy and labor). The PNLS claims that “with this global approach to treatment, the risk of infection for the child is lower than 2% (as against 30% for untreated women).” In Benin, 48% of maternity clinics now offer PTME services, compared to 7% in 2004 (76% in areas in which Unicef is active). And while the system does not yet cover the entire country, the proportion of women who have had access to these services is now 40%, compared to 20% in 2006.