Increase Access to PMTCT Services
Pathfinder works with communities and health facilities in 14 districts of Nairobi, Eastern and Central provinces to increase access to Prevention of Mother-to-Child (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS services, reduce transmission rates, and support women and their babies to lead healthy, productive lives. Pathfinder seeks to minimize the risk of HIV transmission at each stage of the maternity cycle and beyond, including the time before a woman is pregnant, antenatal period, labor and delivery, and postpartum, including infant feeding.
Goal of the Practice
- Expanding access to HIV counseling and testing for antenatal women
- Upgrading facilities to ensure that counseling sessions are private and confidential
- Integrating optimal infant feeding and PMTCT activities into existing services and programs
- Establishing and strengthen community support systems, and
- Strengthening two-way referral systems between communities and health facilities
Core Components
- Minimize the risk of HIV transmission at each stage of the maternity cycle and beyond
- Provide strong, comprehensive maternal and child health services, where HIV awareness and prevention are integrated into all levels of care
- Link facility and community services so that they have maximum impact on preventing HIV
Noteworthy Results
- New ANC clients has increased from 3,000 women per quarter in 2003 to more than 34,000 in the first quarter of 2005
- Number of women accepting HIV counseling and testing has increased from under 1,300 per quarter in 2003 to over 25,000 women in the first quarter of 2005
- Pathfinder helped to increase Nevirapine uptake for mothers and babies by repackaging the infant syrup into individual doses, and giving doses at first ANC contact
- Pathfinder has also provided Nevirapine when facilities experienced stockouts
Lessons Learned
- Leaders at all levels play a crucial role in the implementation of PMTCT activities
- Involving the District Health Management Team (DHMT) members in all phases of planning and implementation result in their ownership of the PMTCT project, and improved quality of services and supervision at the district levels
- Many of the strategies to prevent MTCT benefit all women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy regardless of their HIV status
- Improving basic ANC services and infrastructure through training and renovations helps improve PMTCT services and uptake
Focus Areas
PMTCT
Implemented By
Pathfinder International
Participating Organization
- Public (MOH)
- Private (NGOs)
- Faith-based partners
Region
Africa
Country
Kenya
Environment
Clinic/Health facility
Setting
Other/Non-specified
Target Population
Females
Scope
> 50000
Implementation Years
01/2001 - 01/2009
