IRIN Examines PMTCT Efforts In Africa

IRIN examines efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in several countries in Africa after the WHO “updated its guidelines in July 2012, and added Option B+ to its recommendations.” Previously, “[t]reatment options recommended by the [WHO] to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV … have depended on CD4 count tests, which are frequently inaccessible to people living in” rural areas, the news service notes. IRIN highlights successful efforts in Botswana, Uganda and Ethiopia, but notes poor health and transport infrastructure, a lack of commodities, and a shortage of health workers have hindered efforts in Lesotho. The news service also examines questions about the push to give “life-long treatment to pregnant women,” such as the risk of loss to follow-up and tension between women who receive treatment and their partners who do not (12/5).

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