In 2011, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS announced a plan to eliminate new HIV infections among children by 2015. This increased focus on the elimination of maternal to child transmission (MTCT) is most welcome but is insufficient, as access to prevention of MTCT (PMTCT) programming is neither uniform nor universal. A new and more expansive agenda must be articulated to ensure that t...

BACKGROUND To report the experience of health workers who had played key roles in the early stages of implementing the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission services (PMTCT) in Uganda. METHODS Interviews were conducted with 15 key informants including counsellors, obstetricians and PMTCT coordinators at the five PMTCT test sites in Uganda to investigate the benefits, challenges and s...

BACKGROUND We evaluate the impact of clinic-based PMTCT community support by trained lay health workers in addition to standard clinical care on PMTCT infant outcomes. METHODS In a cluster randomized controlled trial, twelve community health centers (CHCs) in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, were randomized to have pregnant women living with HIV receive either: a standard care (SC) conditio...

BACKGROUND Prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) is an important part of the effort to control HIV. PMTCT services are mostly provided at public sector government hospitals in India. Systematic data on the cost and efficiency of providing PMTCT services in India are not available readily for further planning. METHODS Cost and output data were collected at 16 sampled PMTCT centres...

INTRODUCTION Efforts to implement and take to scale highly efficacious, low-cost interventions to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (pMTCT) have been a cornerstone of reproductive health services in sub-Saharan Africa for over a decade. Yet efforts to increase access and utilization of these services remain far from optimal. This study developed and applied an approach to systematically ...

BACKGROUND Prevention of mother to child HIV transmission (PMTCT) remains a challenge in low and middle-income countries. Determinants of utilization occur--and often interact--at both individual and community levels, but most studies do not address how determinants interact across levels. Multilevel models allow for the importance of both groups and individuals in understanding health outcomes...

Introduction Hepatitis B virus infection is a public health concern in Cameroon and worldwide. With hepatitis C virus, it is the first cause of liver cancer in Cameroon. The high prevalence of 11.9% in Cameroon is associated with the premature contamination at the perinatal period, due to vertical transmission, from mother-to-child. To put into practice the preventives measures, actors need a g...

The prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programmes plays a significant role in the reduction human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections under-five age group and maternal mortalities. A phenomenological study on experiences HIV-positive women who utilised PMTCT services identified challenges affecting use those services. An enabling environment is required for effectiveness pro...

Mother to child transmission remains the primary source of HIV in children. In 2013, The World Health Organisation (WHO), recommended Option B+ as prevention mother (PMTCT) strategy Low and Middle-income Countries. With this strategy, all positive pregnant lactating women are initiated on lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) regardless their clinical immunological status. Despite, contributing...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish the barriers to the uptake of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) services by women in rural Blantyre and Balaka districts in Malawi. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted with data collected through in–depth interviews and focus group discussions. A total of 52 participants were interviewed. Results: The main barriers to up...