By, Guy Hubbard, UNICEF, April 16, 2008
For the past eight months, 34-year-old Regina, a mother in Zambia’s Luapula Province, has been waiting anxiously for the final test results that will decide her daughter’s future. It is possible that her child may test positive for HIV.
Thankfully, Regina's local clinic runs a Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme. By providing both the mother and newborn child with doses of the drug Neviropene, the programme can reduce the chance of the virus being transmitted to her child.
“During childbirth, they gave me and my baby Neviropene and because of that I hope that my baby will be HIV-negative,” said Regina.
A lack of resources
Most clinics in Luapula do not provide PMTCT services. In fact, most are not even able to provide HIV testing, even though Zambia suffers from one of the world’s highest rates of HIV.
This lack of resources means that transmission of the virus from mother to child remains alarmingly high.
“There are some of my patients who we suspect have HIV and their babies died after being delivered,” said nurse Regina Olwita. “I think about 10 per cent of my patients would need PMTCT.”
Due to the lack of proper services, health workers in rural areas like Luapula have often been forced to watch helplessly as babies continue to be born with the virus, despite the fact that effective and affordable PMTCT programmes are available elsewhere.
Now, thanks to an historic agreement between UNICEF, non-governmental organization Family Health International and the Zambian Ministry of Health, PMTCT programmes are being established in all Luapula’s rural clinics.
Life-saving services
The initial rollout of the programme will include antiretroviral treatment for both pregnant women and children, as well as the training of health workers and other associated services.
“This is important because women do not go out of their area for antenatal services so you have to offer PMTCT at every place that they go to,” said Zambian Country Director of Family Health International, Cathy Thompson. “By expanding these services we will be able to reach 90 per cent of people in Luapula province.”
Children have to be eight months old to undergo the final test. Yet despite the agonizing wait, Regina remains optimistic. With the new PMTCT programme, mothers living with HIV throughout Luapula Province will have hope for their children's future.
Source: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/zambia_43579.html
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Stigma major obstacle to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment for women
By, Rosanne Skirble, VOA News, April 3, 2008
A new survey finds that women living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, face high levels of social stigma. Susan Blumenthal, senior policy and medical advisor for amfAR, the foundation for AIDS Research that released the national survey, says stigma is a major obstacle to the treatment and care of women infected with the virus. "In part because of more poverty, fewer resources and the social inequities that surround women's lives in many societies."
The majority of Americans surveyed said they would be uncomfortable having an HIV-positive woman as a healthcare or childcare provider. According to the findings 68 percent would be uncomfortable having an HIV-positive dentist; 57 percent would be uncomfortable having an HIV-positive woman as their physician, and 27 percent would be uncomfortable working closely with an HIV-positive woman. One in five said they would not even be comfortable having an HIV-positive woman as a close friend, and few Americans believe that HIV-positive women should have children.
The majority of Americans have pervasive negative views of women with the AIDS virus
Blumenthal says these attitudes reflect persistent, widespread misunderstanding of how the HIV virus is transmitted. She believes the way to combat such misconceptions is to bolster education and communication. "And yet our survey results reveal that less than one-third of Americans discuss HIV with their spouse or partner. And less than one-fifth discuss HIV with potential sexual partners, which is a real problem in terms of preventing this disease."
Blumenthal says another way to reduce the stigma associated with being an HIV-positive woman is to integrate AIDS testing into general medical practice. She says 65 percent of those surveyed supported routine AIDS testing, although she feels respondents may have assumed that the testing occurs more frequently than it actually does. "Sixty-seven mistakenly assumed that they are automatically screened for HIV when they are tested for other sexually transmitted infections. And 50 percent believeed that women are automatically tested during prenatal exams."
Women accounted for 27 percent of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 2005, up from 8 percent in 1985.
Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/Science/2008-04-03-voa44.cfm
A new survey finds that women living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, face high levels of social stigma. Susan Blumenthal, senior policy and medical advisor for amfAR, the foundation for AIDS Research that released the national survey, says stigma is a major obstacle to the treatment and care of women infected with the virus. "In part because of more poverty, fewer resources and the social inequities that surround women's lives in many societies."
The majority of Americans surveyed said they would be uncomfortable having an HIV-positive woman as a healthcare or childcare provider. According to the findings 68 percent would be uncomfortable having an HIV-positive dentist; 57 percent would be uncomfortable having an HIV-positive woman as their physician, and 27 percent would be uncomfortable working closely with an HIV-positive woman. One in five said they would not even be comfortable having an HIV-positive woman as a close friend, and few Americans believe that HIV-positive women should have children.
The majority of Americans have pervasive negative views of women with the AIDS virus
Blumenthal says these attitudes reflect persistent, widespread misunderstanding of how the HIV virus is transmitted. She believes the way to combat such misconceptions is to bolster education and communication. "And yet our survey results reveal that less than one-third of Americans discuss HIV with their spouse or partner. And less than one-fifth discuss HIV with potential sexual partners, which is a real problem in terms of preventing this disease."
Blumenthal says another way to reduce the stigma associated with being an HIV-positive woman is to integrate AIDS testing into general medical practice. She says 65 percent of those surveyed supported routine AIDS testing, although she feels respondents may have assumed that the testing occurs more frequently than it actually does. "Sixty-seven mistakenly assumed that they are automatically screened for HIV when they are tested for other sexually transmitted infections. And 50 percent believeed that women are automatically tested during prenatal exams."
Women accounted for 27 percent of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 2005, up from 8 percent in 1985.
Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/Science/2008-04-03-voa44.cfm
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
