Towards elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Ghana: an analysis of national programme data

International Journal for Equity in Health

A. E. Yawson³  N. A. Addo¹  M. Atuahene⁴  S. Ayisi Addo¹  B. Dornoo¹  P. Dako-Gyeke² 

[1] National AIDS/STI Control Programme, Ghana Health Service, Korle- Bu, Accra, Ghana;Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana School of Public Health, Legon, Accra, Ghana;Departmentof Community Health, University of Ghana School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana;Department of Population Family and Reproductive Health, University of Ghana School of Public Health, Legon, Accra, Ghana

关键词: Ghana;    Antiretroviral therapy;    HIV testing;    mother-to-child HIV transmission;    HIV prevalence;   

Others  :  1235413
DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-016-0300-5

 received in 2015-05-29, accepted in 2016-01-07,  发布年份 2016

【 摘 要 】

Background

Despite global scale up of interventions for Preventing Mother to child HIV Transmissions (PMTCT), there still remain high pediatric HIV infections, which result from unequal access in resource-constrained settings. Sub-Saharan Africa alone contributes more than 90 % of global Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT) burden. As part of efforts to address this, African countries (including Ghana) disproportionately contributing to MTCT burden were earmarked in 2009 for rapid PMTCT interventions scale-up within their primary care system for maternal and child health. In this study, we reviewed records in Ghana, on ANC registrants eligible for PMTCT services to describe regional disparities and national trends in key PMTCT indicators. We also assessed distribution of missed opportunities for testing pregnant women and treating those who are HIV positive across the country. Implications for scaling up HIV-related maternal and child health services to ensure equitable access and eliminate mother-to-child transmissions by 2015 are also discussed.

Methods

Data for this review is National AIDS/STI Control Programme (NACP) regional disaggregated records on registered antenatal clinic (ANC) attendees across the country, who are also eligible to receive PMTCT services. These records cover a period of 3 years (2011–2013). Number of ANC registrants, utilization of HIV Testing and Counseling among ANC registrants, number of HIV positive pregnant women, and number of HIV positive pregnant women initiated on ARVs were extracted. Trends were examined by comparing these indicators over time (2011–2013) and across the ten administrative regions. Descriptive statistics were conducted on the dataset and presented in simple frequencies, proportions and percentages. These are used to determine gaps in utilization of PMTCT services. All analyses were conducted using Microsoft Excel 2010 version.

Results

Although there was a decline in HIV prevalence among pregnant women, untested ANC registrants increased from 17 % in 2011 to 25 % in 2013. There were varying levels of missed opportunities for testing across the ten regions, which led to a total of 487,725 untested ANC clients during the period under review. In 2013, Greater Accra (31 %), Northern (27 %) and Volta (48 %) regions recorded high percentages of untested ANC clients. Overall, HIV positive pregnant women initiated onto ARVs remarkably increased from 57% (2011) to 82 % (2013), yet about a third (33 %) of them in the Volta and Northern regions did not receive ARVs in 2013.

Conclusions

Missed opportunities to test pregnant women for HIV and also initiate those who are positive on ARVs across all the regions pose challenges to the quest to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Ghana. For some regions these missed opportunities mimic previously observed gaps in continuous use of primary care for maternal and child health in those areas. Increased national and regional efforts aimed at improving maternal and child healthcare delivery, as well as HIV-related care, is paramount for ensuring equitable access across the country.

【 授权许可】

   
2016 Dako-Gyeke et al.

【 图 表 】

Fig. 1.

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