Reduce New HIV Infections among Children in India

Over the past six-month period the project contributed towards counseling and testing of 678,047 pregnant women with HIV and testing services and among these 2,950 women were diagnosed as HIV positive.  

The program helped link 95% of these HIV positive pregnant women to  Antiretroviral therapy (ART) (life-saving medication) for their own health and for preventing HIV transmission to their babies. In addition, 2,698 HIV positive women who have given birth were provided support for testing their babies for HIV at six weeks after delivery through home and telephone follow-up and accompanying them to the health facilities.  

Furthermore, 1,419 of these HIV positive pregnant women and their spouses were provided psycho-social support, counseling on how to disclose their HIV status to their family members, adherence to hospital visits and prescribed medications, and the importance of institutional delivery and appropriate infant feeding. The project also helped counsel and test the spouses of 1,457 HIV positive pregnant women for HIV.  

Case study  

Priyanka (Name changed) and her husband were tested positive for HIV during pregnancy and initiated the treatment. However, Priyanka refused to consume the medicine initially due to fear and lack of awareness. The field coordinator of the program reached out to the mother, counseled her on HIV/AIDS and the importance of initiating treatment and got her to start the treatment. During the follow-up counseling sessions, Priyanka informed that she discontinued the medicines after five days due to nausea, giddiness, vomiting sensation, shivering and loss of balance.  After repeated counseling sessions, the field coordinator was able to convince Priyanka to continue her medications, which she did all through her pregnancy.