LIFE FOR MOTHERS | REDUCE THE NUMBER OF WOMEN AND INFANTS THAT DIE DURING PREGNANCY/CHILDBIRTH

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Jan 22, 2011

Preventing Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in Malawi

AUTHOR:IRIN NEWSSOURCE:IRIN NEWS

Malawi is one of the few countries that is on target to the Millennium Development Goal (4) of reduced infant mortality by 2015. Due to increased numbers of pregnant women and mothers attending antenatal clinics, health care workers are able to educate them on how to prevent mother to child transmission by performing HIV testing and treatment when necessary with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. With 45 % of HIV positive pregnant women having access to PMTCT services (up from 3% in 2005) the incidence of new HIV infections and infant mortality has markedly decreased. The Elizabeth Glazer Foundation has focused its efforts to improve PMTCT services along with the Ministry of Health’s providing more antenatal clinics and training additional healthcare workers. PMTCT is a key component of the mission of LfM and the training of healthcare workers is the means by which information about PMTCT is conveyed to mothers. When mothers come for their antenatal visit this is a prime entry point for them to get tested and treated if necessary. Repeated testing during pregnancy is imperative since many mothers can seroconvert (go from negative to positive) during the last month. Click here to read the full article: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91689