Each year, approximately 430,000 babies around the world become infected with HIV during their mothers' pregnancy, during birth or through breastfeeding. Enabling pregnant women to know their HIV status before they give birth is the first step in preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. However, for many pregnant women living in the developing world, testing is limited because of cost, time required to receive results, and lack of trained health care staff and testing facilities.

Rapid on-site testing can have a significant impact in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Using a small amount of whole blood, serum or plasma, any program in a remote setting can obtain results regardless of access to laboratory equipment or electricity. To facilitate access to rapid HIV testing, Abbott has made a commitment to donate a rapid (15 minute) HIV test to PMTCT programs in 69 countries, including all of Africa and the Least Developed Countries, as defined by the United Nations. Abbott also has extended its PMTCT donations to include testing of spouses and children of pregnant women who are found to be HIV positive through the program.

To date, Abbott has donated 15 million rapid HIV tests in 40 countries: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Haiti, Kenya, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.