Kampala — OVER the next two years, at least 10 million pregnant women in nine countries, including Uganda, will be tested for HIV while 285 000 mothers and children will be treated.

The $50 (sh81.5b) project is funded by the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and UNITAID, an international drug agency. "Our aim is to fund the most effective and appropriate medicines for women and children," said Dr. Philippe Douste-Blazy, Chair of UNITAID's executive board.

Other countries to benefit from the aid are Central African Republic, China, Haiti, Lesotho, Myanmar, Nigeria, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. These countries represent approximately 25% of the world's HIV-infected pregnant women who give birth annually.

The arrangement will allow UNICEF to negotiate reduced drug prices, allowing for a greater scale-up of more effective treatment for HIV-infected women and prevent infection in their children.

"This means the WHO-recommended treatment protocol, and a far superior solution to the single - therapy Nevirapine, can be implemented much more quickly and intensively," the organisations announced.