A 2m US dollar Project to Prolong HIV+ Mothers’ Lives

Picture: UNICEF Representative in Uganda Dr. Sharad Sapra talks during a press conference on mother to child HIV transmission at Kampala Srena Hotel. Centre is Dr. Jane Ruth Acong while extrem right is Dr Charles Lynos, the Director and CEO of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation.

Efforts to reduce HIV infections from mother-to-child and boost the survival chances of HIV positive women in Uganda received a major boost today 11^th March 2013, with the launch of a two million US dollar (over UShs 5 billion) project that will support the Ministry of Health to improve delivery of high-quality HIV-related services in the country over the next two years.

The Project, titled “Optimizing Access to Simplified HIV Treatment to Reduce New HIV Infections among Children in Uganda”, will support national roll-out of “Option B+”, a strategy that promotes Anti-Retroviral Treatment for life for all HIV positive pregnant women irrespective of their level of immunity – medically referred to as the CD4 count.

Launched by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) with support from Swedish International Development Corporation Agency (SIDA) through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the project aims to complement the already existing Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV interventions in the country.

It also aims at addressing inequalities in access to comprehensive and high quality HIV services which often arise due to a lack of equipment to carry out further diagnosis after ascertaining one’s HIV status and complex anti-retroviral treatment recommendations.

EGPAF President and CEO, Charles Chip Lyons, said putting all HIV-infected pregnant women in treatment will help to close that gap.

“The project aims to complement the already existing prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV interventions in Uganda. It will enable us harness our efforts to support HIV positive women live longer and prevent infection to their babies,” Lyons said.

The project is part of a three-year USD 20 million grant to accelerate the introduction of Option B/B+ onto the existing PMTCT programmes in four countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Uganda.

“We want to use anti-retroviral treatment to not only prevent mothers from passing the HIV virus to their babies but also protect their own health and allow them live longer to look after their families,” Lyons added.

UNICEF will co-ordinate the project with Ministries of Health in the different countries, based on guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO), while three NGO service delivery partners – EGPAF, International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) and mothers2mothers (m2m) – will implement it wherever they have variously been mandated to, in the four participating countries.

UNICEF Representative in Uganda, Dr. Sharad Sapra, described the project as a critical contributor to ensuring the survival of HIV positive mothers in Uganda and that of their babies, who deserved the chance to be born free of HIV.

“Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is not an impossibility; it has been achieved in many developed countries, why not Uganda?” said Dr. Sapra, adding that it was important for all stakeholders to strengthen their collaboration and co-ordinate to support government efforts to keep HIV positive mothers alive and ensure their babies are born HIV-free.

According to the WHO, Option B+ offers higher protection against mother-to-child transmission in future pregnancies, a prevention benefit against sexual transmission to HIV negative male partners in discordant relationships.

Meanwhile, UNAIDS reported that in 2011, more than half (57%) of pregnant women living with HIV received ARVs for PMTCT (excluding single-dose nevirapine only), while less than one-third (30%) of HIV positive pregnant women received ART for their own health. This global picture is not any better at country level, save for the different unique challenges.