Of the 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide at the end of 2003, 2.5 million were children under 15 years old. Most of these infections (90%) occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. The most significant source of HIV infection in children and infants is transmission of HIV from mother-to-child during pregnancy, labour and delivery, or breastfeeding. According to UNICEF, in the absence of preventive measures, the risk of a baby acquiring the virus from an infected mother ranges from 15-25 per cent in industrialised countries and 25-35 per cent or higher in developing countries. Infants in Eastern and Southern Africa are particularly at risk as a consequence of high fertility rates and high infection rates among women of childbearing age. Some five per cent of HIV-exposed children are infected during pregnancy; about 15 per cent are infected at delivery; and approximately 10 per cent are infected through breastfeeding.
The sources of infection include maternal blood, placenta, amniotic fluid, cervicovaginal secretions, and breast-milk. The routes of entry vary from umbilical circulation, skin, and mucous membranes including gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract, transplacental infection, microtransfusion, ascending infection through the vagina, or direct contact by the infant.
If your organization has produced materials for PMTCT purposes, we are happy to include them in digitized form on our website. Please let us know if you have anything to contribute.
Materials are organized by their purpose:
A Flip chart the ARC has produced to promote PMTCT
Mother-to-child
transmission [topic area]
Published by: UNAIDS
Basic information about mother-to-child transmission and some other related
document links.
PMTCT
publications and report [Report]
Published by: World Health Organization (WHO)
Monthly Intelligence Reports are compiled from a regular survey of publications
related to the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. They also
cover abstracts presented at international conferences. They include a brief
summary and comments prepared by the Bordeaux Working Group.
Adapted
PMTCT Curriculum for Ethiopia [Training Package]
Published by: Ministry of Health (MOH)
The most significant source of HIV infection in children and infants in Ethiopia
is transmission of HIV from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or
breastfeeding. The availability and use of short-course antiretroviral (ARV)
prophylaxis-a safe and well-tolerated regimen-can contribute significantly to
PMTCT during childbirth. A comprehensive prevention of MTCT (PMTCT) program
can significantly reduce the number of infected infants by providing guidelines
for improving clinical care for women and their children. Training healthcare
workers is essential to effective PMTCT programs, which serve as a critical
entry point to ARV therapy and supportive care.
Prevention
of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Infection Generic Training Package
[Training Package]
Published by: World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC)
This is a comprehensive, evidence-based course for the prevention of mother-to-child
HIV transmission (PMTCT) and was written for implementation in resource-constrained
settings. The package provides a context for reviewing existing materials (policies,
procedures, and curricula) in light of current science and evidence-based practice.
It also provides a framework for updating existing policy, developing materials
where needed, and considering the implications of implementing PMTCT services
in a range of clinical settings.
Saving
Mothers, Saving Families: The MTCT-Plus Initiative [Case Study]
Published by: World Health Organization (WHO)
Perspectives and Practice in Antiretroviral Treatment case study
HIV
Voluntary Counseling and Testing:
An Essential Component in Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission
[Research Summary]
Published by: The Population Council
This research summary focuses on VCT in the antenatal care (ANC) setting, examining
specifically service utilization by pregnant women, their perceptions of services,
client outcomes as a result of undergoing HIV counseling and testing, and strategies
for improving quality and coverage of VCT as a key component of PMTCT programs.
Testing
and Counselling for Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (TC for
PMTCT) [ Support Tools]
Published by: CDC, WHO, UNICEF, USAID and their implementing partners
The Support Tools respond to a need in resource-constrained settings for educational
materials, job aids, and training resources to support the integration of testing
and counselling (TC) into antenatal care (ANC), labour and delivery (L&D)
and post-delivery (PD) settings. The TC for PMTCT Support Tools were developed
by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program, in collaboration with the Department
of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund
and United States Agency for International Development and their implementing
partners.
Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV: Selection and Use of Nevirapine
[Technical Note]
Published by: World Health Organization (WHO)
This publication from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report summarizes the
recommendations of a technical expert panel for public- and private-sector policy
makers and service providers of HIV counseling, testing, and referral. The recommendations
are based on evidence from all available scientific sources; where evidence
is lacking, opinion of "best practices" by specialists in the field
has been used.
Nevirapine
for the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV [Report]
Published by: World Health Organization (WHO)
WHO reconfirms its support for the use of nevirapine to prevent mother-to-child
transmission of HIV.
Strategic
Approaches to the Prevention of HIV Infection in Infants [Report]
Published by: World Health Organization (WHO)
Report of a WHO Meeting, Morges, Switzerland, 20-22 March 2002
Guidelines
for Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV In Ethiopia - 2007
(472 KB PDF format
)
Published by: Federal HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office
and Federal Ministry of Health - July 2007
This guideline replaces the previous guideline on The Prevention of Mother-to-Child
Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, November 2001. It updates earlier guidelines on
the latest managerial, technical and clinical developments accepted nationally
and internationally.
Back
Pocket Updates Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV - 2007
(1.32 MB PDF format)
Published by: Federal HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office
and Federal Ministry of Health - July 2007
This back pocket update is intended for use by all level of health care providers
in Ethiopia in prevention of Mother-to-Child transmission of HIV in Ethiopia.
Antiretroviral
Drugs for Treating Pregnant Women and Preventing HIV Infection in Infants
[Guideline]
Published by: World Health Organization (WHO)
Guidelines on Care, Treatment and Support for Women Living with HIV/AIDS and
their Children in Resource-Constrained Settings. It contains a summary of the
scientific rationale and programmatic considerations for these recommendations.
By addressing issues of efficacy, safety, drug resistance and feasibility the
document is intended to guide the selection of antiretroviral regimens to be
included in programmes to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Nutrition Counselling, Care and Support for HIV-infected Women
[Guideline]
Published by: World Health Organization (WHO)
Guidelines on HIV-related care, treatment and support for HIV-infected women
and their children in resource-constrained settings.
HIV
and Infant Feeding [Framework]
Published by: Developed within the context of the Global Strategy, and endorsed
by nine UN agencies
The purpose of this framework is to recommend to government's key priority actions,
related to infant and young child feeding, that cover the special circumstances
associated with HIV/AIDS.
Click here to see the Flip-chart
