News / National
99% of pregnant women presenting for antenatal clinic accepting to test
11 Jun 2016 at 08:50hrs | Views
Deputy Minister of health and Child care Aldrin Musiiwa has said in the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV programme, acceptance for HIV testing is very high with 99% of pregnant women presenting for antenatal clinic accepting to test.
Speaking in parliament Musiiwa said among those who are found to be HIV positive, 98% are initiated on ART.
"However, relative to all established HIV positive pregnant women in need of ART including some who may not have come for the ANC, the country population coverage for ARVs for prevention from mother to child transmission drops to 85% and certainly there are about 7% of pregnant women who do not book for antenatal at all and therefore miss the opportunity for delivering HIV free children," Musiiwa said.
"These include women of certain cultures and certain religions and some who are limited from accessing care because of the distance to the facilities and some because of cost."
Musiiwa said all pregnant women presenting to antenatal clinics to book their pregnancies receive group education sessions on pregnancy care including the benefits of one knowing their HIV status.
"This is what we call the group counselling session. In this session, women are informed that they can receive an HIV test at booking, but that is not mandatory. They are also informed that they will receive antiretroviral treatment for life "Option B+" if they test HIV positive. Those who do not wish to be tested are not forced to test," Musiiwa. "After the group education session, individual women then go on for consultation with the health care provider who offers the HIV test, to which women have the right to opt-out. Those women who opt-out receive more detailed counselling in subsequent visits to deal with some of the reasons why they may not wish to be tested in this particular visit."
Musiiwa said even taking antiretroviral treatment is a voluntary decision that a woman takes should she be found to be HIV positive, as some women may not be ready to take ART for life. Some women may want to concur with their male partners/husbands before taking antiretroviral treatment.
Speaking in parliament Musiiwa said among those who are found to be HIV positive, 98% are initiated on ART.
"However, relative to all established HIV positive pregnant women in need of ART including some who may not have come for the ANC, the country population coverage for ARVs for prevention from mother to child transmission drops to 85% and certainly there are about 7% of pregnant women who do not book for antenatal at all and therefore miss the opportunity for delivering HIV free children," Musiiwa said.
"These include women of certain cultures and certain religions and some who are limited from accessing care because of the distance to the facilities and some because of cost."
Musiiwa said all pregnant women presenting to antenatal clinics to book their pregnancies receive group education sessions on pregnancy care including the benefits of one knowing their HIV status.
"This is what we call the group counselling session. In this session, women are informed that they can receive an HIV test at booking, but that is not mandatory. They are also informed that they will receive antiretroviral treatment for life "Option B+" if they test HIV positive. Those who do not wish to be tested are not forced to test," Musiiwa. "After the group education session, individual women then go on for consultation with the health care provider who offers the HIV test, to which women have the right to opt-out. Those women who opt-out receive more detailed counselling in subsequent visits to deal with some of the reasons why they may not wish to be tested in this particular visit."
Musiiwa said even taking antiretroviral treatment is a voluntary decision that a woman takes should she be found to be HIV positive, as some women may not be ready to take ART for life. Some women may want to concur with their male partners/husbands before taking antiretroviral treatment.
Source - Byo24News
