From January 2010 to December 2011, the Infant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN) Project supported the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) partners in Ethiopia to improve maternal and child nutrition practices and increase HIV-free survival of children. Although Ethiopia has successfully integrated services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV with antenatal care (ANC) services, many facility-based providers lack nutrition counseling skills and access to tools and materials to help them offer adequate support to mothers and children. The project worked with the Ethiopian government and partners to improve the quality of nutrition assessment, counseling, and support services in several communities in Addis, Oromia, and Amhara regions where the HIV prevalence rate is disproportionately high. This included developing behavior change communication tools and materials for health workers, health extension workers, and mothers’ support groups; updating the skills of agricultural extension workers to integrate nutrition education; and training health workers to better counsel mothers, particularly those who are HIV-positive, about optimal maternal, infant, and young child nutrition practices.
Nutritional care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS was reported to the Global Nutrition Policy Review (GNPR) 2009-2010The FMOH has developed a four-pronged national strategy for PMTCT: primary prevention of HIV infection; prevention of unintended pregnancies among HIV-positive women; prevention of HIV transmission from infected women to their infants; and treatment, care, and support of HIVpositive women and their infants and families. All health centers have a system of identifying infants born to HIV-positive mothers as part of their PMTCT program. 11The following is a brief description of the flow of PMTCT services, commencing from a woman’s first visit for ANC:All women coming for ANC are routinely informed—individually or in a group—about the benefits of HIV testing for mothers and babies. During this process—known as providerinitiated HIV counseling and testing—mothers reserve the right to say “NO.” Those who say “YES” will be tested.Women with positive results are referred to MSG mentors, and ANC follow-up continues. Their partners will also be tested.MSG mentors counsel an HIV-positive woman and transfer her to the ART nurse for antiretroviral drugs.The ART nurse takes a CD4 count. If not eligible for treatment based on her count, the woman will commence treatment and ANC follow-up continues. If she is eligible for treatment based on her count, she will be put on complete antiretroviral prophylaxis that starts at 27 weeks of gestation.Follow-up continues and the mother is advised to deliver at a health facility.At delivery, the infant will be started on prophylaxis as an HIV-exposed infant.A dried blood sample will be taken from the infant for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing after 45 days.Follow-up continues until cessation of breastfeeding, with re-screening done six weeks later.
CD4 countsPCR test for HIV status of iinfant
Date | User | Log | State |
---|---|---|---|
Tue, 03/11/2014 - 17:28 | engesveenk | Edited by engesveenk. Added country for geocoding on map | published |
Fri, 09/20/2013 - 10:52 | engesveenk | Edited by engesveenk. Added country for geocoding on map | draft |