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A Reliable and Cost-Effective Way to Reduce Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIVNew research conducted with support from USAID stresses the importance of family planning as an effective and cost-efficient way to prevent new cases of HIV in children. Scientists from Family Health International analyzed data from the 15 countries that receive funds from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The results, reported in a recent issue of the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, demonstrate that even though contraceptive use is relatively uncommon in most PEPFAR countries, it prevents hundreds of thousands of HIV-positive births each year by preventing unintended pregnancies in infected women. The scientists also reported that using contraception to prevent an unintended pregnancy in an HIV-positive woman is significantly less expensive than giving an infant a single dose of nevirapine (a drug commonly given to prevent HIV in a child born to an infected woman). The savings that could be realized as a result of this approach in South Africa, for example, would be more than U.S. $2.2 million. In a related article published in the same issue, scientists from Family Health International reviewed international policy environments, funding trends, and existing programs that support the integration of family planning and HIV services. They found that despite wide-ranging support for integration, promoting contraception for HIV prevention is an underused strategy. This appears to be due in part to bureaucratic roadblocks and a lack of support from global donors. The authors recommend that global donors coordinate their reproductive health and HIV funding efforts as a way to support the integration of family planning and HIV services. Sources Wilcher R, Petruney T, Reynolds HW, Cates W. From effectiveness to impact: contraception as an HIV prevention intervention. Sex Transm Inf 2008;84 (suppl 2);ii54-ii60. |
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