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About our Work: Preventing Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission
(Last Updated: January 2005) |
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| About PMTCT |
PMTCT Tools |
Mother-to-child HIV transmission (MTCT) accounts for nearly 90% of the more
than 600,000 estimated new HIV infections that occur in children worldwide each
year. Without intervention, there is a 15-30% risk of a HIV-infected mother
transmitting HIV to her child during pregnancy and delivery, and an additional
10-20% risk of transmission through breastfeeding. In sub-Saharan Africa, where
up to 40% of pregnant women are now HIVinfected, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has had
devastating effects on infant survival and on families.
Comprehensive prevention
of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programs have nearly eliminated MTCT
in developed countries. However, progress in implementing similar prevention
programs in resource-poor settings has been slow, with only 10% of pregnant
HIV-infected women benefiting from these services in many countries.
Simple,
effective interventions make preventing MTCT in resource-poor settings an
obtainable goal. Those interventions include:
- routinely recommended rapid HIV
testing and counseling;
- short-course antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for mother
and infant;
- modified infant feeding practices.
Clinical trials have
demonstrated that these interventions can reduce the risk of MTCT by 30-90%.
Further, new global initiatives to support ARV therapy and widespread
prevention, care and treatment programs, have created important new
opportunities to support PMTCT, integrate PMTCT into maternal-child health
programs, introduce more effective ARV interventions, and provide linkages to
care and treatment for mothers, infants and family members ("PMTCT-plus").
With
U.S. Government (USG) funding, the Global AIDS Program (GAP) supports national
scale-up of PMTCT programs by:
- developing national PMTCT policies and program
plans;
- implementing core PMTCT interventions, including the use of a range of
ARV regimens, from single-dose nevirapine to more effective combination ARV
regimens, where feasible (See: WHO ARV PMTCT Guidelines, 2004);
- implementing PMTCT-plus programs, including encouraging partner involvement, linking PMTCT
with community-based programs, and developing strong linkages to ongoing care
and support of both mother and infant;
- providing training, infrastructure
support, and assistance for developing monitoring and evaluation activities;
- supporting key PMTCT program implementation tools, including a national training
curriculum package (WHO/CDC), monitoring system, testing and counseling manual.
In Tanzania, Botswana, Mozambique, and Namibia, GAP, with USG funding...
has
supported the development of national PMTCT guidelines, scale-up plans, training
packages, and PMTCT monitoring systems.
In Thailand, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda, and
Zambia, GAP, with USG funding... has conducted clinical trials and targeted
evaluations of PMTCT interventions.
How does CDC promote prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT)
in developing countries?
- CDC assists countries to develop national PMTCT
scaleup plans, policy guidelines, monitoring systems, and training packages.
- CDC implements PMTCT programs at various health facility levels.
- CDC
implements core PMTCT interventions, such as routine, rapid HIV testing and
counseling, short-course antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), modified obstetric and
infant feeding practices, family planning, infant diagnosis and followup, and
provision of PMTCT services.
- CDC conducts operational research and targeted
evaluations.
- CDC collaborates with USG and international partners on PMTCT
activities.
Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Tools
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