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Case trackers trained to find, support mothers and children infected by HIV
The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has partnered with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to train trackers to find women, who have stopped taking their HIV treatment, thus endangering the lives of their infants and unborn.
The Case Trackers Initiative has been launched to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV.
The two entities jointly launched a four-day training programme to provide new expertise to the trackers to execute their duties for six months.
The initiative is being undertaken under the auspices of the Ministry’s Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme. The PMTCT Unit was created with the primary function of providing support services to the mothers and children exposed to HIV.
PMTCT also provides support for safe childbirth practices, appropriate infant feeding and providing infants exposed to HIV with virological testing after birth and during the breastfeeding period in addition to Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) for prevention and effective treatment.
The Case Tracker Initiative is aimed at encouraging HIV infected mothers to continue treatment towards viral suppression, and newly diagnosed pregnant women to enrol for the treatment regimen.
During a recent training, Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), Dr. Karen Boyle, told participants that the aim is to ensure that 100 percent mothers living with HIV are enrolled and continue with their care and treatment under the programme.
Dr. Boyle explained that the success of the project will largely depend on the ability of trackers to show empathy when dealing with each case.
“An important part is for you to be able to empathise with patients; put yourself in their shoes and make that journey for them much easier… You are going to have to interface with the healthcare workers and explain to them issues your client may be grappling with and that’s why empathy is important. Dr. Boyle told the group.
Further, she emphasized that the objective is to ensure that women are attending clinic, taking their medication and there is zero transmission from mother to child.
UNICEF’s Deputy Representative to Guyana/Suriname, Irfan Akhtar, noted the blueprint of the Case Tracker Initiative is to help mothers and children affected by HIV to ward off any potential health risks as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“We recognize that globally, COVID-19 has affected human life and has disrupted many things including health services, and in Guyana, this is no different. We see that it is crucial to continue to protect those who are likely to be negatively impacted by COVID-19,” Akhtar said.
“Therefore,” he added that, “tracking pregnant women and mothers who have defaulted from the clinic and providing emotional support to newly-diagnosed mothers is a necessity.”
He noted that case trackers are also vital for the management of an effective referral system.
“You are important to the process, as Guyana aims for the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV. You will act as an important bridge between mainstream healthcare providers and mothers who are living with HIV and their children who were exposed,” the UNICEF official said.
Meanwhile, Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Officer, Dr. Oneka Scott, emphasised the importance of social support for the management of HIV.
“Our HIV/AIDS positive mothers will need to be supported with continued health education and risk reduction and that is what you will be doing. As case trackers, you will be able to advocate for the needs of those mothers and children,” she said.
Globally, some 1.4 million HIV-infections among children were prevented between 2010 and 2018 due to the implementation of PMTCT services.
By aligning with the Region’s initiative towards the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Congenital Syphilis in the Americas, Guyana has been able to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV and syphilis, nationally.
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