Maputo, 2 sept (EFE).-La the UN Agency for HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today urged Mozambique stop using its low effectiveness, nevirapine, a drug prescribed to the pregnant women to prevent transmission of HIV to the baby.
The director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibe, made that request after meeting in Maputo with the first Minister Mozambique, Aires Ali.
Sidibé stated that the use of nevirapine causes still many births of children infected with the virus that causes AIDS, when there are other options to avoid that a pregnant woman give birth to a baby infected.
“Mozambique is in a list of 30 countries in which 25 per cent of pregnant women infected babies after using nevirapine to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to son”, stated the head of UNAIDS to the journalists.
Due to the consumption of this drug, 40,000 children born each year living with HIV in Mozambique, which has one of the highest rates of HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to experts, nevirapine, like other antiretrovirals, causes mutations in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which can cause the development of HIV drug resistance
For that reason, doctors usually do not recommend use of nevirapine in combination with other antiretroviral drugs.
According to the Ministry of health of Mozambique, 400 HIV infections occur every day in the country, despite the many awareness-raising campaigns launched by the Government and various organizations.
For this reason, the director of UNAIDS requested the first Mozambican Minister a greater effort to prevent the birth of children infected with the virus.
“The country – insisted Sidibé – must take action to stop new infections, so there is no more births conn contagion”. EFE
