Homegrown Solutions for Fighting Pediatric HIV and AIDS

Posted by Robert Yule
Washington, D.C.
June 29, 2010

When confronting challenges in preventing new HIV infections in children – especially in more rural settings in sub-Saharan Africa – sometimes the best methods are also the simplest.

Low-tech, home grown solutions – the Swahili phrase is jua kali – can often have the biggest impact.

The Foundation recently sponsored a meeting to discuss the lessons learned from the landmark USAID-sponsored Call to Action Project, which provided nearly 4 million women with services to prevent the transmission of HIV to their babies.

Country Directors Peter Savosnick from Kenya and Agnes Mahomva from Zimbabwe sat down with us after the event to discuss two of these “jua kali” solutions.

Savosnick described an innovative program in Kenya to repackage infant doses of antiretroviral drugs – developed and tested with partners PATH, FHI and others – to give to mothers who deliver at home or outside of health facilities.

Mahomva detailed how the simple redesign of Zimbabwe’s child health card had a huge impact on keeping track of mothers and their babies to ensure they continue to get the HIV prevention and treatment they need.

Watch the videos below and read the Foundation’s Call to Action report for more examples of the progress made by this dramatic initiative to help eliminate pediatric HIV and AIDS in the countries most affected by the pandemic.

Kenya: A Home Grown Solution from EGPAF on Vimeo.

Zimbabwe: Small Modifications Equal Big Success from EGPAF on Vimeo.

Robert Yule is the Foundation's Media Manager, based in Washington, D.C.

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Comments

Keith Fleming at 7/8/2010 5:17:03 PM

Thanks for posting, Bob. I enjoyed reading your blog.

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Nkwabi James at 7/23/2010 6:17:35 AM

the best way to reduce mother to children HIV transmission is by provision of proper knowledge/ education to pregnant mother especially in rural areas as well as their husband about the possibility of delivering baby who are HIV free, because most family believe that once you acquire HIV there is no way out for the baby to escape HIV.
Second things in most developing countries especially my country Tanzania, mostly in rural areas there is no facilities like equipment and professional personnel to deal with these problems. you can find that that in rural areas pregnant mother can deliver without tested on HIV.
SO THE BEST WAY TO REDUCE MOTHER TO CHILDREN HIV TRANSMISSION IS BY ENSURE NURSE/STAFF ARE CAPABLE WITH THESE KNOWLEDGE, AND TIMELY PROVISSION OF PROPER KNOWLEDGE ABOUT MATTERS,

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