OCTOBER 2004 — FHI has done a lot in terms of HIV control activities in Eritrea, but is the organization making a difference? One way to assess the impact of our HIV programs is to monitor trends in HIV prevalence. International experience shows that the HIV prevalence among pregnant women who seek antenatal care (ANC) is a good estimate of HIV prevalence in the general adult population.

Over the last decade, there have been a number of attempts to generate HIV seroprevalence data for Eritrea. In 1994, an HIV surveillance activity carried out in Asmara indicated a prevalence rate of 3%. In 1997, a small study among pregnant women attending selected ANC sites in all six zones of the country yielded an HIV prevalence rate of 2.0%. In 1999, a round of ANC HIV sentinel surveillance limited to urban areas in Maekel, Debub, Anseba, and Northern Red Sea zones yielded an HIV prevalence rate of 4.2%. The Eritrean Ministry of Health (MOH) also conducted an HIV/AIDS/STI behavioral and HIV serological survey in 2001. The weighted HIV prevalence among ANC attendees in that study was 2.8%.

Between April and July 2003, the MOH collected basic health and sociodemographic information along with anonymous, unlinked blood samples from 4,651 pregnant women attending ANC sites for the first time during the current pregnancy. Blood samples were tested for both HIV and syphilis infection.