HIV Prevention: Involving Communities Improves Program Success

"Mother-to-child transmission is the primary route of HIV infection in children. UNAIDS estimates that in 2001, about 800,000 children under age 15 became newly infected with HIV/AIDS. Clinical trials in several countries have shown that mother-to-child transmission of HIV can be greatly reduced by administering a short, affordable course of antiretroviral therapy to pregnant women. The use of breastmilk substitutes further protects infants. Unfortunately, community attitudes can often dissuade women living with HIV/AIDS from using these methods. When programs solicit the opinions of community members and seek to reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS by educating citizens, however, women's access to and willingness to seek help can be greatly enhanced.

Beginning in 1999, researchers at the Population Council and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) initiated several activities to identify effective means of improving community involvement in efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission. With support from Glaxo Wellcome’s Positive Action Program and UNAIDS, the investigators reviewed the literature on community involvement and assessed community views on preventing mother-to-child transmission in Botswana and Zambia..."

Click here for the full article as published in the Population Council's Population Briefs, Volume 7, Number 4.