During 2007, 37% of the estimated 1.5 million pregnant women in the developing countries received AIDS drugs to prevent transmission of the virus during delivery, up from only 10% in 2004.
"Many of the countries with the highest number of infected pregnant women are making excellent progress," she said.
In Swaziland, for example, the number of pregnant women receiving treatment increased to 57% last year from 5% in 2004, while in Mozambique the number grew to 46% from 3%. Nonetheless, in 2007, nearly 400,000 children were newly infected.
In addition, the women are not faring well. After they give birth, fewer than 10% continue to receive treatment for their infections and many die of AIDS, Doughty said.
One of the chief impediments to further improvements in AIDS care is the lack of healthcare infrastructure in the most affected countries and the shortage of personnel to distribute medications and other interventions.
One of the most promising prevention methods, according to the report, is widespread male circumcision, which has been shown to reduce the number of new infections by as much as 60%, De Cock said. Experts speculate that widespread use of the procedure in Africa could prevent 2 million new infections and 300,000 deaths over the next decade.
But, De Cock said, the healthcare infrastructure is now stretched too thinly to provide circumcisions.
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thomas.maugh@latimes.com
