Circle of Love

Noodle & Boo's Circle of Love campaign raised awareness and funds for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS (PMTCT) programs in Africa. This means that babies born to HIV-positive moms will not contract the virus because moms will receive the necessary antiretroviral immunizations and care.

 

 

When you become a mom, you truly know what it means to have a “mother’s heart.” Love beyond measure. Commitment deeper than you could imagine — purpose with new meaning. Imagine if you were HIV-positive and pregnant. Imagine how helpless you would feel knowing that your baby was at risk.

The idea of our mom-to-mom campaign was to tap a mother’s heart here in the United States to support another mother in Africa. A mother’s heart is universal. It crosses cultures and economics. We are bonded by the deep love we share for our children. A circle never ends just as a mother’s love is never-ending.

learn about pmtct

An HIV-positive mother can pass HIV on to her baby any time during pregnancy, labor, delivery and breastfeeding, so the transmission of the virus must be blocked at each stage. Current World Health Organization guidelines recommend that HIV-positive pregnant mothers should go on a regimen of three antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) as soon as possible and stay on these drugs until their infants are born and breastfeeding has concluded. Ideally, the mothers themselves will also remain on treatment once breastfeeding has concluded, for their own health.

As soon as the infant is born, the baby should be given nevirapine — a very inexpensive drug — daily for six weeks. The infant should be formula-fed rather than breastfed if possible, but it’s recognized that formula feeding is both expensive and difficult to do safely in resource-limited settings. As such, if the mother cannot formula-feed her child, it is recommended that the mother should breastfeed her child exclusively for six months while continuing to take her ARVs. Mothers who adhere to this regimen can reduce transmission of HIV to their babies by an amazing 95 percent or more.

These prevention guidelines have evolved over the years as scientists have learned more about how to most effectively reduce the risk of transmission while also working to minimize drug resistance for our most effective treatment tools. Many policymakers stress that access to effective contraception to prevent unintended pregnancies is also important for women who are HIV-positive.

learn about blood:water

Funds raised from the Circle of Love campaign reached moms in Africa through Blood:Water.

Blood:Water is an equipping agency that partners with African grassroots organizations to address the HIV/AIDS and water crises.Founded by multi-platinum GRAMMY® Award winning band, Jars of Clay and activist Jena Nardella, Blood:Water began in 2004 as a call to personalize the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. Since its launch, Blood:Water has raised over $22 million through the creative efforts of tens of thousands of individuals seeking to make a difference. Blood:Water believes that Africa holds the leadership, creativity, passion and resolve necessary to address the HIV/AIDS and water crises. They have spent the past ten years working alongside more than a dozen African organizations to bring clean water and HIV/AIDS support to nearly a million people in 11 countries. For more information and to get involved, visit www.bloodwater.org or follow on twitter, @bloodwater.