The Vatican secretary of state called for free universal access to AIDS drugs and AIDS therapy, and insisted it begin by giving the drugs to HIV-positive pregnant women.
“We cannot continue to tolerate the deaths of so many mothers; we cannot but think of thousands of babies as a lost generation,” said Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
The Vatican secretary of state spoke in Rome June 22 during a conference on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The conference, sponsored by the lay Community of Sant’Egidio, brought together African health ministers, representatives of international organizations and donors supporting anti-AIDS projects in Africa.