12th World AIDS Conference
  
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...bridging the gap

LAST UPDATE: Tuesday, 30 June, 1998 01:13 GMT        V O X   P O P U L I                                   ...all the news, as it happens
 

"Can we now prevent children from being born with HIV?"

 

"In my society, women aren’t allowed to decide not to have children. Whether HIV-positive or not, we are forced by family and custom to become mothers. But pregnant women ask themselves ‘How am I going to manage after delivery? If I die, who will take care of my baby?’ As an HIV-positive woman, I believe the decision to have a child should be mine."
– Lusaka, Zambia

"Personally, I think that in a few years there will be better control of mother-to-child transmission. In the meantime, in my medical practice, I suggest to women that they wait a year or two before getting pregnant. But if they’re 36 or 37 years old, they may not be willing to do that. It’s not an easy choice."
– Buenos Aires, Argentina

"All the drug-related research I’ve seen on perinatal transmission has to do with the use of AZT only. My question is where is the research on drugs other than AZT, or AZT in combination with other drugs, including protease inhibitors?"
St. Petersburg, USA

"Knowing they themselves are infected, mothers worry whether their newborn children are also infected. In my country, the management of sexually transmitted diseases is really important for preventing mother-to-child infection. What’s also needed is education...as well as better nutrition."
Kampala, Uganda

"I believe it is possible, but it is the determination of politicians. If they want to make it possible, they can – it is not expensive."
– Nice, France

 


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