A United Nations report has shown that early HIV testing and treatment procedures which provide life-extending drugs have proved to be life-saving for newborn babies affected by the disease. The signs of progress are evident, but more efforts are needed to expand screening of newborn infants exposed to the virus that causes AIDS.

“Survival rates are up to 75 percent higher for HIV-positive newborns who are diagnosed and begin treatment within their first 12 weeks,” Ann Veneman, executive director of the U.N. children's fund UNICEF, said, analyzing the U.N. AIDS report launched in New York on the 20th World AIDS Day.

The report, released by UNICEF, the U.N. AIDS program UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, and the U.N. Population Fund highlights the fact that countries must maintain current assistant levels.

“Without appropriate treatment, half of children with HIV will die from an HIV-related causes by their second birthday,” Ann Veneman said in a statement introducing the report.

Countries with high rates of HIV cases, such as Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia, have introduced early infant HIV testing, the report said. But another important idea to keep in mind is the fact that far too few pregnant women know their HIV status. Studies have shown that people who know they are infected with HIV are more likely to avoid spreading the disease.

In 2007, only 18 percent of pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries received an HIV test, and only 12 percent of those who were tested positive continued having tests to determine the stage of HIV disease and type of treatment they require. Of all the HIV-positive pregnant women worldwide, only about one-third is getting anti-retroviral treatment to prevent transmission to their infant.

The report warned that pregnant women were not receiving sufficient counselling and they didn’t have enough information about contraception and safer infant feeding. The report also recommends increased access to tests assessing immune functions of HIV-positive mothers to determine their stage of HIV infection.

About 33 million people worldwide are infected with the virus and 2.7 million new cases were reported in 2007, according to UNAIDS. Over three quarters of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, which remains the epicenter of the global malady. Researchers believe the virus originated in this region during the twentieth century. The virus that has killed more than 25 million people since being identified in 1981, including 330,000 children is spread in blood, semen, breast milk and other bodily fluids. The number of deaths dropped about 10 percent to 2 million in 2007, the report found.

However, early diagnosis and treatment remain key points in controlling the AIDS epidemic. The United Nations called for improved education to help with prevention of new infections, particularly programs focused to young people, as some 45 percent of all new infections worldwide occur among people in the 15 to 24 year-old age group.