Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation
Every day around the world 900 children become infected with HIV - the vast majority through mother-to-child transmission because their mothers do not have access to the medicine they need to prevent the transmission. This staggering statistic and the global pediatric pandemic is what the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation are advocates for. Because the serious issue of pediatric aids has touched my in a personal way, I wanted to spotlight the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation and the woman behind the pioneering efforts to education the world and the strides that continue in her name today to eliminate pediatric HIV/AIDS.
The words HIV and AIDS radiates a fear in most people. Imagine being told this was your fate before the world knew much of anything at all bout the disease. Elizabeth Glaser, the wife of a Hollywood actor, was diagnoses with HIV 1985, acquiring the disease from a blood transfusion during the birth of daughter 1981. Elizabeth unknowingly passed the disease on to her daughter through breastfeeding. Her son, born in 1984 contracted the virus in utrero. At that time in the early 80’s antiviral drugs was very new and not being testing for children. The Glasers’ daughter died from AIDS related complication in 1988. Determined to save her son’s life, Elizabeth rose to action. She approached two close friends and asked for their help in starting a foundation that would raise money to fund pediatric AIDS research and awareness, as chronicled in her autobiography, “In The Absence Of Angels”.
In the years that have followed, the foundation has grown to a world wide organization and has become one of the largest providers of prevention of mother-to-child transmission services.
New HIV infections in children have been virtually eliminated in middle-income countries such as the United States, but still other areas of globe like Sub-Saharan Africa still endure 69% of the world wide number of people living
The words HIV and AIDS radiates a fear in most people. Imagine being told this was your fate before the world knew much of anything at all bout the disease. Elizabeth Glaser, the wife of a Hollywood actor, was diagnoses with HIV 1985, acquiring the disease from a blood transfusion during the birth of daughter 1981. Elizabeth unknowingly passed the disease on to her daughter through breastfeeding. Her son, born in 1984 contracted the virus in utrero. At that time in the early 80’s antiviral drugs was very new and not being testing for children. The Glasers’ daughter died from AIDS related complication in 1988. Determined to save her son’s life, Elizabeth rose to action. She approached two close friends and asked for their help in starting a foundation that would raise money to fund pediatric AIDS research and awareness, as chronicled in her autobiography, “In The Absence Of Angels”.
In the years that have followed, the foundation has grown to a world wide organization and has become one of the largest providers of prevention of mother-to-child transmission services.
New HIV infections in children have been virtually eliminated in middle-income countries such as the United States, but still other areas of globe like Sub-Saharan Africa still endure 69% of the world wide number of people living
Cited: Glaser, Elizabeth, & Palmer, Laura (1991) In The Absence Of Angels. G.P. Putnam 's Sons Lyons, Charles, Mushavi, Angela, Ngobeni-Allen, Florence, Yule, Robert, Abrams, Elaine. (2012). Ending Pediatric AIDS and Achieving A Generation Born HIV-Free. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 60, S35-S38. UNAIDS Fact Sheet. (July 2012) Retrieved September 18, 2012 from http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/201207_FactSheet_ Global_en_em.pdf