AT least 93% of pregnant mothers living with HIV can now access comprehensive prevention-of-mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services as stakeholders in the health sector step up efforts to control the spread of the pandemic,
BY PHILLIP CHIDAVAENZI
according to the Global Aids Response Country Progress Report for 2014.
The report established PMTCT, offered at almost all the 1 560 health facilities in Zimbabwe, increased from 22% in 2007 to 93% in 2013.
According to the report, PMTCT was one of the programmes that had achieved universal access by 2013.
It highlighted that the percentage of HIV‐positive pregnant women who receive antiretroviral treatment to reduce the risk of mother-to‐child transmission, which was pegged at 22% in 2007, increased to 59% in 2009, 86% in 2011 before slipping to 85% in 2012 and shooting up again to 93% in 2013.
The percentage of child infections from HIV positive mothers during delivery in the past 12 months decreased from 31% in 2009 to 21% in 2011. It further went down to 18% and then 9,61% between 2012 and 2013.
The report further indicated that the percentage of infants born to HIV‐infected women who received antiretroviral prophylaxis to reduce the risk of early mother‐to-child‐transmission in the first six weeks went up from 26% in 2007 to 86% in 2013.
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The Global AIDS Response Progress Report 2014 provides an appraisal of progress towards achieving High Level Meeting targets set in 2001. The data gathering and report writing process was coordinated by the National Aids Council in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care and their partners.
