Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT)

Related Projects

Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission: PMTCT

Preventing the transmission of HIV from a mother to her unborn child is a key intervention in curbing the spread of HIV. Anova has been at the frontline of research and implementation of PMTCT (previously as PHRU) and has achieved international recognition for its work, and many accolades for its flagship programme in Soweto, Gauteng, and the innovative Family Free project in Limpopo.

South Africais one of a handful of countries where maternal and child mortality has increased since the 1990s, with AIDS accounting for 35 percent of deaths in children under the age of five.

During the last year Anova has provided PMTCT support to 31 241 pregnant women. These were mainly in Soweto, but also in the other health districts. Anova has achieved a less than four percent transmission rate overall. There are still challenges in the more rural areas where transmission rates still appear to be high. There is a paucity of reliable statistics in these regions and this will be a focus area for correction in future.

PMTCT in SA

The South African national PMTCT programme was initiated late in 2001 following a Constitutional Court ruling that ordered the Department of Health to issue single-dose Nevirapine to HIV-positive pregnant mothers. In 2008, the regimen was updated to a dual-therapy protocol that saw AZT being added to the treatment regimen. Infant feeding guidelines were also amended. This came two years after the WHO had updated its PMTCT guidelines. In 2010, the Department of Health again announced new guidelines. These most recent changes require a mother-to-be with a CD4 count of 350 or lower to be started on life-long ART. In the case of a CD4 count higher than that, prophylaxis is started in the 14th week.

Anova provides PMTCT services at the following of its projects:

  • Tirisanong (Soweto)
  • Khutso Kurhula (Limpopo)
  • Rivoningo Lesedi (Mpumalanga)