¡¡¡¡ADDIS ABABA, June 17 (Xinhuanet) -- An Ethiopian health official has disclosed that about 250,000 Ethiopian children are living with the HIV/AIDS due to mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of the virus.

¡¡¡¡Directives for training of health workers to reduce mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS has been prepared, Teklu Belay, head of AIDS and other sexually transmitted disease team of the Ethiopian Health Ministry, was quoted as saying by the Ethiopian News Agency here on Monday.

¡¡¡¡The MTCT during pregnancy, delivery and breast feeding is the second cause to the HIV transmission in the country, and the directive would help build the capacity of the health workers to provide treatment to pregnant mothers which is believed to reduce by half the transmission of the virus, added Teklu.

¡¡¡¡The directive, after being evaluated and enriched by some 44 gynecologists and pediatricians drawn from higher institutions and hospitals, would been forced in some parts of the country, he said.

¡¡¡¡Ethiopia stands in the world, as 16th highest with HIV/AIDS prevalence and third with the largest population of people living with the deadly virus.

¡¡¡¡In Ethiopia, the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS has now culminatedin a pandemic that poses a serious threat to social and economic development, and nearly 3 million Ethiopians area living with HIV,a vast majority of who are young people and adults in their prime working age. Enditem

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