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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Gopal Sankaran, MD, DrPH, CHES, Health, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, 319 Sturzebecker Health Sciences Center, West Chester, PA 19383, 610 436 3592, gsankaran@wcupa.edu

Issues: In 2005, according to UNAIDS, 700,000 children under the age of 15 were estimated to have contracted Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV); over 90 percent of them through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). Each year, about 300,000-350,000 additional HIV infections among newborns (most of them in sub-Saharan Africa) can be averted, if more countries implement the United Nations supported strategies (UNICEF, 2002). In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, 8% of all under-five mortality is due to HIV disease (UNICEF, 2004). Description: Strategies to prevent MTCT of HIV include preventing HIV infection among women of childbearing age, increasing access to voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), improving antenatal care, establishing safe delivery practices, expanding use of antiretroviral drug therapy, making appropriate choices about infant feeding and nutrition, and supporting health promotion and disease prevention services. An empirical analysis of evidence from multiple developing nations indicates that while the effectiveness of available strategies to prevent MTCT is well-known, their implementation has not been uniform, speedy, or consistent. A careful appraisal of health and economic indicators in these nations highlights the benefits that would accrue if MTCT strategies are applied efficiently and effectively. Lessons Learned: Politics, resource constraints, lack of trained professionals, inadequate community organization and mobilization, and poorly planned and/or executed information, education, and counseling programs (IEC) are some of the challenges identified. Recommendations: Changes are recommended in three areas: i) policy formulation, ii) resource allocation, and iii) strategy implementation.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Identify the magnitude of MTCT of HIV in developing nations.
• 2. Specify three measures that are currently in place to prevent MTCT of HIV.
• 3. Discuss evidence based changes in policy and practice necessary to reduce the impact of MTCT of HIV on the nations’ health, labor force, and productivity

Keywords: Children, HIV/AIDS

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered