Mother-to-child HIV transmission rates have declined in Africa as a result of the early therapy, which prevents the spread of virus. The announcement was made by the African ministers at a meeting in Rome on Friday.

Health Minister of Africa, Mary Shaba said that the vertical transmission of the virus from mother to child is reduced from 33.1 to 1.5% in Malawi.

Marco Impagliazzo, the Head of the charity, which operates treatment programmes and testing laboratories in 10 African countries, said that as a result of the antiretroviral therapy a generation of children without this illness is being born.

Recently, large scale global study conducted across various nations has revealed that HIV sufferers who take antiretrovirals are at a 96% lower risk of transmitting the disease to their partners. The study included mainly heterosexual couples in Africa, India and the Americas.

Meanwhile, the Mozambique's first lady, Maria da Luz Guebuza declared that achieving universal access to anti-retroviral treatment for HIV-positive people is one of the top priorities for the Mozambican government. The government will ensure that there are adequate of health professionals and easy access to the treatment so that the transmission of virus could be reduced.