Community Involvement and The Prevention of Mother-to-Child-Transmission of HIV/AIDS

According to this report, "mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT) is the primary cause of HIV infection in children under 15. In 2001, 2.5 million babies were at risk of HIV infection through MTCT." The findings in this report indicate that medical treatment needs to occur with education efforts so that the stigma associated with HIV/AIDs is reduced.

Overcoming Obstacles: The Importance of Community Involvement

While important biomedical breakthroughs using ARVs make it possible to prevent most cases of HIV transmission from mother to child, the potential impact of ARVs will be greatly magnified—or diminished—depending on whether or not they are accepted in the communities which stand to benefit from them.

Because the transmission of HIV from infected mothers to their fetuses occurs within women's bodies, programs often are targeted at women only. Yet, interventions to reduce the risk of MTCT are not likely to succeed if they address women in isolation; successful interventions must involve the entire community.

Women's health, community decisions

Women often consult with their families and the community when making health-related decisions. Consequently, in order to succeed, programs to prevent MTCT must be able to provide information, education, services, and support to these significant others in women's lives. Without this, community members cannot provide guidance that will most effectively minimize the risk of MTCT.

The extent of misinformation among communities can be seen in findings from the Botswana and Zambia studies. For example, community members believed that if the mother was HIV-positive, the baby would inevitably be as well; and community members were skeptical that drugs could prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child due to their misunderstandings about pregnancy and fetal blood supply. Such misunderstandings could result in decisionmaking that does not optimize the survival chances of an infant born to an HIV-positive mother.

Click here for the full report in PDF format.