UNICEF Video
Preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission
Odaliz Canrey is 19 and pregnant with her first child. Thanks to UNICEF, shes getting tested for HIV. Although Guatemala has low HIV prevalence less than 1 per cent of the adult population Odaliz wants to be sure of her status.
Odaliz decides to bring her mother along for support. The two of them leave the house they share and begin the journey to the closest national hospital, where her HIV test will be given as part of her regularly scheduled prenatal examination.
About 59,000 people are living with HIV in Guatemala. Odaliz says people in her culture are afraid to discuss the virus even basic facts like how it is spread. She says there are misconceptions about HIV among people in her village of Alotenango.
"I've seen situations where if a woman is HIV-positive, people will not touch her, they won't let their kids hang out with her or her children," says Odaliz. "There's a lot of stigma."
