Cameroon has led the way in Africa in decentralizing its AIDS response. Now almost all health districts are equipped to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT). While coverage of treatment to prevent babies from getting HIV reached almost 34% of pregnant women living with HIV in 2009, a vast improvement from the 18 % of 2008, the country still has a long way to go. While health districts have reached almost their maximum level of PMTCT coverage the problem is that many women do not go to hospitals and clinics to give birth. Pregnant women in rural and marginalized communities will have their children at home with a midwife. So, the next step would be to implement strategies to reach out to vulnerable women.
However, ramping up HIV coverage has had other benefits. The resources which have gone to HIV treatment have also helped improve the capacity of health systems in general. We see that ameliorating the management of HIV has helped increase the professionalism of our laboratories and medical staff.”
UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé has championed the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission. He has made the eradication of babies born with HIV a top priority. “It is not acceptable that in countries like France or the US practically no pregnant HIV positive women give birth to babies with HIV, but in places like Cameroon, still far too many babies are born with HIV,” said Mr Sidibé. “This kind of inequality is intolerable. We know we can stop mother to child transmission of HIV, so we must continue to redouble our efforts to overcome this injustice.”
He visited the HIV treatment centre and maternity ward at Yaoundé’s central hospital in May 2010 and praised the efforts Cameroon has made to eradicate the transmission of HIV from mother to child. But he called on the leadership to continue to expand prevention measures and become a model of PMTCT in Africa.
