AFEW: Annual Report 2001/2002 >> Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV

Annual Report 2001/2002

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV

Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) is the most significant source of HIV infection in children below the age of 15 years. Since the beginning of the pandemic, an estimated 5.1 million children worldwide have been infected, almost all through MTCT. In 2002, 5,034 Russian children were registered as living with HIV/AIDS, of which 3,955 new cases were reported compared to only 6 registered cases in 1996.

Pilot programme

In 2002, AFEW initiated a pilot prevention programme in four selected regions of the RF, where an estimated 500 to
1,000 children are infected each year. This project, initiated in close collaboration with governmental and non-governmental counterparts, aims to support the development and implementation of a nationwide sustained and co-ordinated MTCT response.

The pilot programme follows recommendations formulated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 20016 for the establishment of MTCT programmes based on the following three-pronged strategy:

• Primary prevention of HIV among parents-to-be;
• Prevention of unwanted pregnancies among women living with HIV/AIDS; and,
• Prevention of HIV transmission from women living with HIV/AIDS to their infants through the provision of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, safe delivery practices, counselling and support for safer infant feeding practices.