Foundation Blog
News, commentary, and voices in the efforts to eliminate HIV and AIDS in children worldwide.
Posted by
Robert Yule
Washington, D.C.
February 1, 2011
For mothers living in low- and middle-income countries, breastfeeding is a vitally important source of nutrition for their babies. But for those mothers living with HIV, it is also a potential source of transmission of the virus that causes AIDS.
In recent years, several studies have focused on how to allow HIV-positive mothers to breastfeed more safely and increase their babies’ chances of HIV-free survival.
Click past the jump to read more about a new study reported on by The New York Times and published in the medical journal The Lancet.
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Posted by
Robert Yule
Washington, D.C.
December 28, 2010
Maamohelang Hlala sitting outside her
home near Mokhotlong, Lesotho.
On last week’s special 20/20 episode on global health, ABC correspondent Deborah Roberts visited a Foundation-supported clinic nestled in the mountains of Lesotho. She followed a special Foundation pony courier there as he delivered lifesaving drugs and test results to mothers and pregnant women living with HIV in the isolated villages surrounding the clinic .
She also sat down with one of those mothers, Maamohelang, and her husband to talk about how receiving those drugs at the clinic changed their lives. They had discovered that they were both HIV-positive only after their baby boy became sick a few years ago. Soon after they lost their infant son to AIDS, Maamohelang discovered that she was once again pregnant.
Click past the jump to find out more of her story, and to see what happened after the cameras stopped rolling.
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Posted by
Robert Yule
Washington, D.C
December 17, 2010
Potso Seoete and his horse Rooikat
rest after a long journey. (Photo: EGPAF)
On December 17 at 10 p.m. ET, the long-running ABC News program
20/20 will launch the “Be the Change: Save a Life” series, highlighting the world’s top global health issues, including HIV/AIDS. The inaugural episode will profile the pony riders of Lesotho and their integral role in the Foundation’s HIV prevention, care, and treatment initiatives.
In late November, Foundation Media Manager Bob Yule accompanied ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts, along with the Foundation Country Director for Lesotho Dr. Leo Buhendwa and a film crew, high into the mountains of Lesotho to document the Horse-riding for Health program.
Click past the jump for a behind-the-scenes account of the week-long trip, along with links to more amazing photos and video, and to learn more about Potso, one of the horse-riders for health.
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Posted by
Robert Yule
Washington, D.C.
November 23, 2010
The just-released UNAIDS 2010 report on the global AIDS epidemic reflects that there is increased momentum to eliminate pediatric HIV and AIDS worldwide, and documents significant progress in increasing access to services to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, reducing new infections in children, and providing treatment for children, mothers, and families living with the virus.
Click past the jump for links to the report and the Foundation's reaction to the progress.
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Posted by
Robert Yule
Washington, D.C.
November 9, 2010
Jake Glaser (left) with HIV-positive Sesame
Street muppet Kami (center)
At this year’s Kids For Kids Family Carnival in New York, there were two special guests in attendance to teach kids and adults alike about the realities of growing up with HIV: Jake Glaser, Elizabeth Glaser’s twenty-six-year-old son, and Kami, an HIV-positive Muppet character from Takalani Sesame, the South African version of Sesame Street.
After sharing their perspectives and experiences about losing loved ones and finding hope for the future, they asked if there were any questions from the crowd.
One young girl stood up and asked this basic but very important question: “Does HIV hurt?”
Continue on past the jump to find out how Jake and Kami answered the question.
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Posted by
Robert Yule
New York City
September 22, 2010
Eliminating pediatric AIDS has been front and center at several meetings this week in New York as part of the UN summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with the Foundation taking an active role in this critical discussion. Read more after the jump.
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