Efforts to reduce high maternal and child mortality received a welcome boost with the launch of a new global campaign, Zero Mothers Die, at an official high-level side event held during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Unveiled at the 5th Women Leaders Forum on 22 September, the campaign seeks to ensure that all women and girls have universal access to information and services supporting maternal, newborn and child health. Zero Mothers Die intends to use information and communications technologies, including mobile technology, to deliver timely health-care information to women in need.

Participating in the launch of the campaign, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé maintained that the initiative will focus on all pregnant women and new mothers, and will have as an aim preventing mother-to-child-transmission of HIV. He stressed that no mother would be left behind.      

Yoo (Ban) Soon-taek, wife of the United Nations Secretary-General, gave the keynote address of the event, which brought together a range of global leaders, including a number of First Ladies. The new campaign contributes to the Every Women Every Child initiative launched by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Summit in September 2010.   

Although significant progress has been made in reducing maternal mortality, it remains a critical issue. According to World Health Organization statistics, every day around 800 women die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth and in 2013 289 000 women lost their lives.

The event was co-hosted by the Advanced Development for Africa Foundation and the Global Partnerships Forum, in collaboration with UNAIDS, the International Telecommunication Union, the Zero Mothers Die Consortium and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

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Hopes to find a cure for HIV received a setback on 10 July when health officials from the United States of America announced that the so-called Mississippi baby is showing signs of HIV infection.

In March 2013, it was announced that a baby born in Mississippi had been cured of HIV after receiving an aggressive treatment immediately after birth, thus opening the door to the possibility of reversing infections among newborns. The child, now four, has restarted antiviral therapy as detectable levels of the virus have been found in her blood.

“This case illustrates that we still have much to learn about HIV, and in particular how it persists in reservoirs,” said Peter Godfrey-Faussett, UNAIDS Senior Science Adviser. “This case has also highlighted the need for even earlier diagnosis for infants, including testing at birth,” he added.

The Mississippi case was the first one to be reported but since then there have been other cases. In these subsequent cases, treatment was also started very early but has never been stopped. 

A cure for HIV remains a crucial goal in the long-term response to HIV. However, a greater understanding of the reservoirs in which HIV hides, and, in particular, of why, when and how it emerges from these reservoirs, seems to be critical for developing an affordable and accessible cure.