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PREVENTION OF MOTHER TO CHILD TRANSMISSION OF HIVE INFECTION
(PMCT) |
The PMCT project was started in 2002. It is an initiative by
ASHA foundation to integrate PMTCT services into maternity care
programmes in three medical institutions in Bangalore - Kolar
region in Karnataka. The program includes training of PMTCT
counselors, their introduction into the antenatal clinics, voluntary
and free HIV testing for pregnant mothers, with pre- and post-
test counseling, primary prevention of HIV/AIDS and other STDs,
family planning measures, identification of HIV positive pregnant
mothers, further counseling for them to make informed choices
regarding ARV therapy, mode of delivery, mode of infant feeding,
family planning, HIV testing for the new-born child and their
integration into the medical and pediatric clinics of the Institution.
The hospitals were chosen on the basis of their voluminous
antenatal clinics, prior relationship with ASHA Foundation
and the depth of community health work. The National AIDS
Control Organisation (NACO) has approved our implementation
of this project with the support of the Elizabeth Glaser Foundation.
ASHA Foundation uses its expertise to strengthen the antenatal
sevices of St.John's Medical College and Hospital, Bangalore
Baptist Hospital and Ellen Thoburn Cowen Hospital , Kolar.
By grafting PMTCT into the MCH programmes of these institutions,
the project hopes to sensitize the community on AIDS issues
while reducing the incidence of AIDS through mother to child
transmission.
At the conclusion of the first phase in Dec 2006, 19,318 women
were counseled, 116 were HIV positive, and 92 had live births.
Out of the 60 children followed up only 2 was HIV positive.
So the transmission rate of HIV infection was reduced from
30% to 3.3%. The Project concluded in December, 2006.
KNH-PMTCT Project is a new project that was started in January
2007 and will extend till December 2009. The project was started
in a small way in September 2006. The project is actually
an up scaling of the EGPAF PMTCT project and under this project
ASHA Foundation will initiate PMTCT services in 20 mission
hospitals in the 4 southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. This is a tripartite partnership
between Christian Medical Association of India (CMAI), KNH-CCCYC
and ASHA Foundation. Sensitization workshops for administrators
and gynecologists of these 20 mission hospitals were held
in December 2006. Seventeen hospitals have started implementation
of the project. The project target includes reaching out to
60,000 pregnant women and 600 HIV positive pregnant women
during the 3-year period.
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