Latest update February 1st, 2025 4:28 AM
PMTCT programme is a continued success – NAPS
The Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme out of the National Aids Programme Secretariat (NAPS) has declared continued success in the prevention of the transfer of HIV from mother to baby. The programme which is mainly concerned with the safety of unborn babies as it relates to HIV transmission has proclaimed decreases in the prevalence of babies being born with the disease.
The initiative was drafted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and included a country plan with Guyana for 2009 – 2013 for the PMTCT programme.
The document says that the aim is to provide universal access to PMTCT services. It added that to reach this goal, remote and difficult-access geographic areas would have been given special attention.
In addition to these challenges, the document states, the PMTCT programme will focus on improving the service quality and on overcoming specific programmatic challenges such as baby testing and appropriate feeding practices, as well as pregnant women’s continuity of their participation in the programme, partners’ involvement and others.
NAPS Programme Manager, Dr. Shanti Singh
According to Dr Shanti Singh, head of the National AIDS Programme Secretariat, the programme has shown significant increases of success as there are decreases in the presence of babies being born with the disease, via inheriting it from infected mothers. Dr. Singh claims the programme has done well for itself. There has been an expansion as it pertains to outreach, information provision and access to treatment, she asserted.
Dr. Singh told Kaieteur News that when the programme was initiated there had been a reluctance of persons (pregnant women) to get tested for the disease. She now says that more and more women are appreciative of the programme. So much so, the doctor claims, that now there are infected women who are interested in becoming pregnant with a 95% acceptance of testing.
According to Dr. Singh, that has developed from the confidence that is now being placed in the programme, as the women believe that their babies will be protected from the transmission of the sickness. She also said it is not the job of the secretariat to prevent HIV-positive women from getting pregnant but it is their responsibility to assist these women, especially those who have never had a child. The medical practitioner says there is almost a 99% chance that the babies would not become affected, providing that the infected mothers follow the guidelines, which include no breast feeding and taking of medication.
Dr. Singh says that through active service provisions available to these infected mothers, statistics show that there has been a steady decrease in figures of babies being born with the illness. She says that in 2002 there had been 4.3% of infants being born with the disease, by 2005 it was 2.5% and every year after that, the number of affected babies has decreased.
The NAPS official also mentioned that by 2010 the prevalence of babies being born with the sickness was less than 1% – 0.8% which she claims is a huge achievement for a place like Guyana where resources may seem limited. She says the country has moved very quickly – offering three antiretroviral drugs, which was updated in the first revision of the programme’s guidelines in 2006.
Dr. Singh emphasized that we are fortunate in this regard, since most countries in a position like Guyana as it pertains to resources are still using one-treatment antiretroviral drugs. Guyana, according to the health manager, is able to cope with the prevalence of infected women baring children as the programme deals with these women and offers assistance that can assure them healthy babies being born. The women are assured that their babies can be protected from getting the disease.
Infected women are advised that in order to protect their babies and keep them healthy during pregnancy they must follow the guidelines and take the relevant medication provided for them. The continued success of the programme, the doctor says, depends on its acceptability by the relevant individuals.
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