More Than 1,000 Sites in Kenya Receive FHI Support to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

JUNE 2009 — FHI/Kenya has reached an important milestone: the number of hospitals, health centers, and dispensaries it supports across the country to implement services that prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) has topped the one-thousand mark. The milestone was reached between October and December 2008, and the number now stands at 1,058. Only two years before, in December 2006, only 169 facilities were counted in this category.

"In communities where PMTCT services are being offered, the milestone reached means that each year at least 2,000 more children will be born HIV-free to HIV-positive mothers who access these facilities," said Dr Justin Mandala, technical advisor for PMTCT at FHI/Arlington.

Currently, one in four pregnant women in Kenya obtains antenatal services or delivers a baby at an FHI-supported facility. Between April 2008 and March 2009, 221,965 pregnant women were tested for HIV at FHI-supported facilities and 10,339 were found to be HIV-positive. Of these women, 80 percent received antiretroviral drugs—a complex treatment to put in place over several months—as did over 65 percent of their newborn babies.

Eighty percent is a remarkable figure. Towards Universal Access, a 2009 progress report by UNICEF, UNAIDS, and the World Health Organization, states that the worldwide figures in these categories are much lower: In 2007, only 33 percent of HIV-positive pregnant women worldwide and 43 percent in East and Southern Africa received antiretroviral treatment, and 20 percent of infants born to HIV-positive mothers worldwide received antiretroviral prophylaxis.

USAID, FHI, and Government of Kenya support
A recent USAID/Kenya evaluation cited the PMTCT programs that FHI has helped to roll out in Kenya as a model that should be replicated.

FHI support for these PMTCT services is provided under the USAID-funded AIDS, Population, and Health Integrated Assistance Program (APHIA II). FHI trains and mentors health workers to deliver the vital service and refurbishments needed, such as lab equipment, delivery instruments, and waiting room renovations.

Country Director Peter Mwarogo noted another important FHI contribution: "Our program has also helped to put in place a strong monitoring and evaluation system to ensure efficiency, with local ownership by the health authorities." In addition to USAID funding for APHIA II, he provides credit for achieving the PMTCT milestone to the commitment of the Government of Kenya and their dedicated healthcare providers.

With USAID support, FHI/Kenya has been working with the Ministry of Health since 1999 to improve and expand the testing of pregnant women for HIV and the delivery of services that protect unborn children from the virus.

 "We will continue to improve the quality of PMTCT services in Kenya and provide leadership," said FHI/Kenya Associate Technical Director Dr Frank Mwangemi. "Our goal is to systematically provide eligible HIV-positive pregnant women with lifelong antiretroviral treatment and services so that they stay alive and healthy and their babies are healthy and HIV-free."

PHOTO: A woman receives well-baby care for her child at a PMTCT clinic in Nakuru, Kenya. (Jim Daniels)