Lifting the blanket on Aids tragedies
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Kim Anderson has a new appreciation for New Zealand after learning about the plight of babies born in countries where their mothers can't access treatment for Aids and HIV.
She has knitted the message "Unite for Mothers" which will sit at the centre of a giant baby blanket which is part of Unicef International's campaign to raise the awareness of the plight of women and babies in developing countries with high rates of Aids and HIV.
Unicef is seeking people to help knit or crochet 20cm by 20cm plain knit squares with the aim to stitch 1400 squares together to make a blanket representing the number of children under 15 who contract HIV every day.
Unicef advocacy manager Sarah Morris said nearly 2 per cent of Papua New Guinea's population was believed to have HIV and AIDS.
If HIV transmission rates remained at current levels, Papua New Guinea could have an HIV prevalence of 6 per cent by 2015, Ms Morris said. That amounts to some 200,000 people.
Ms Morris said the campaign aimed to raise awareness that cost-effective treatment options were available to prevent mothers with the virus from passing it on to their babies, whether during pregnancy, labour or delivery.
The giant baby blanket will be presented to MPs who are mothers at a public event outside Parliament on Mothers Day.
It will then be split into smaller baby blankets and sent to mothers with children with HIV or Aids in Papua New Guinea.
Mrs Anderson's son-in-law, Hamish Lindsay, works for Unicef and had asked her to knit the message for the blanket's centrepiece because he knew she was handy with knitting needles.
Mrs Anderson said she was more than happy to do the job because it was for a good cause.
Mrs Anderson would like to hear from other Marlborough knitters who would like to help out knitting the blanket squares for Unicef.
She can be contacted on 5795595.
- The Marlborough Express
