Peter lives free of his mother's HIV
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Peter Chongo, a healthy and happy baby, lives in rural Zambia. With the help of Global Parents, he is free of the HIV that his mother lives with.
Mirriam feeds her son Peter. Mirriam and her husband learned they were both HIV-positive during an antenatal consultation while Mirriam was pregnant with Peter. Thanks to special medical care, little Peter is HIV-free.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0886/Christine Nesbitt
Without their support, his life could have been very different.
When Peter's mother, Mirriam, first learnt she was pregnant she went for an antenatal check-up. Medical exams are always fraught with anxiety. On this occasion, even more so for Mirriam. She learnt that she had HIV.
This information was crucial not just to her, but also to Peter, her unborn child.
Babies can be infected with HIV during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding and sadly more than 1,000 babies are born with HIV every day.
But Mirriam’s nurse offered her hope: medical treatment to lower her baby’s risk of infection.
With special drugs and care for mother and baby from early pregnancy until her baby is weaned, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission gives the baby the best chance of being born HIV free. UNICEF trains nurses and provides medical equipment to health clinics around the world to support this critical healthcare.
Mirriam’s one wish was to protect her child from infection, so she gladly accepted the treatment. In time, she gave birth to little Peter. The little boy’s HIV test confirmed that he is free of the virus.
Without Global Parents, UNICEF would not be able to provide such life-saving care for mothers and babies like Mirriam and Peter.
