Since the late 1980s, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) sentinel serosurveillance among pregnant women attending select antenatal clinics (ANCs) based on unlinked anonymous testing (UAT) has provided invaluable information for tracking HIV prevalence and trends and informing global and national HIV models in most countries with generalized HIV epidemics. However, increased coverage of HIV test...

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV guidelines in resource-limited settings focus on antenatal and postnatal management. In this review of the literature, we present findings from select studies, highlight best practices, and present evidence-based guidelines for intrapartum PMTCT management that are applicable to resource-limited settings. We discuss the roles of intrapar...

INTRODUCTION Leadership is a key factor in the success of HIV prevention and treatment. Positive HIV-related outcomes are also affected by funding levels for HIV, health sector resources, disease burden and the socio-economic environment. Leadership on HIV as well as these other factors are affected by the quality of political governance of the country, which may be an overarching factor that i...

BACKGROUND The Zimbabwean national prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) program provided primarily single-dose nevirapine (sdNVP) from 2002-2009 and is currently replacing sdNVP with more effective antiretroviral (ARV) regimens. METHODS Published HIV and PMTCT models, with local trial and programmatic data, were used to simulate a cohort of HIV-infected, pregnant/breastfeedi...

BACKGROUND Development of country plans for prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT), including expansion of comprehensive, integrated services, was key to Global Plan achievements. APPROACHES Use of the PMTCT cascade, an evolving series of sequential steps needed to maximize the health of women and HIV-free survival of infants, was critical for development and implementation of...

BACKGROUND Information is currently limited on the long-term follow up of HIV-1 infected women who are on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) that contains nevirapine and lamivudine and who were previously exposed to antiretroviral drugs for the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. METHODS We studied the 36-month immunological response to HAART in HIV-1 infected...

Involvement of male partners may increase adherence to and improve outcomes of programs to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT). Greater understanding of factors impeding male voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) is needed. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Tshwane, South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were completed with men whose partners had recently been pregnan...

The acceleration of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) activities, coupled with the rollout of 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, led to important discussions and innovations at global and country levels. One paradigm-shifting innovation was Option B+ in Malawi. It was later included in WHO guidelines and eventually adopted by all 22 Global Plan priority countries....

BACKGROUND We assessed the integration of PMTCT services during the postpartum period including early infant diagnosis of HIV (EID) and adult and pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) in maternal and child health (MCH) facilities in Zimbabwe. METHODS AND FINDINGS From August to December 2012 we conducted a cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of 151 MCH facilities. A ...

Background Poor awareness and knowledge of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT),that accounts for over 90% of new HIV infections among children, might contribute to the HIV epidemics. In Ethiopia, 898 400 children are orphaned due to HIV and AIDS and 200 300 were living with HIV in 2013. The main objective of this study was to examine the knowledge of MTCT of HIV, its prevention (PMTCT) and asso...