Almost every minute of every day, a baby is born with HIV, passed on by their mother during pregnancy, labour or delivery. This is because only one in three mothers with HIV receive the right medicine and care to prevent passing on the virus to their babies. Without treatment, most of these children will not live to see their second birthday.

It doesn’t have to be like this. There is an effective treatment, costing less than £1, which can prevent a mother passing HIV to her baby. With the right medicine and care, more than 98 per cent of mothers with HIV do not pass the virus to their baby.

In June 2008, over 80,000 signed UNICEF action cards were delivered to Downing Street, calling on the Chancellor to keep the promise made at the G8 Summit to help raise the $1.5bn needed to stop babies being born with HIV.