Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission

Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission: In collaboration with the National AIDS Program of Myanmar (NAP), the Department of Health (DOH), and UNICEF, Save the Children launched a community-based program focused on the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT). Through an integrated approach, this program incorporates services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission with essential reproductive health care, in an effort to reach more women who are, or may become pregnant, as well as new mothers. The program aims to strengthen access to information and care and support services in communities, raise awareness about HIV, and engage community members in overcoming barriers to the use of antenatal care (ANC) and HIV testing. Partner testing is critical to the success of the program, and therefore male involvement is highly encouraged. This program is designed to reinforce public sector services and build local capacity, ensuring that its efforts and activities will endure after the program has ended. As the model has gained national-level interest, Save the Children is working with other agencies to develop proposals for taking this work to greater scale, benefiting larger numbers of women, their partners and families.