Supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries

www.aidsalliance.org

KEEPING HIV POSITIVE MOTHERS HEALTHYResults from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance’s Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) programme, funded by UK aid from the Department for International Development (DFID).

AIM

RESULTSACROSS ALL FOUR COUNTRIES INCLUDE:

INFORM

ED COMM

UNITIES

MORE SAFE DELIVERIES

Reduce HIV-related maternal mortality and improve health outcomes for HIV positive women in four countries: Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Zambia.

The four programme countries were identified because of their high burden of maternal mortality and HIV. Globally HIV alone accounts for 61,000 maternal deaths every year, with HIV positive mothers four to eight times more likely to die during childbirth than HIV negative women.

The programme (October 2010 – September 2011) sought to increase demand for health care services by pregnant women and their male partners. At the same time it captured perspectives from communities which informed national level advocacy to build more enabling policy environments that better promote integration and link HIV prevention with MNCH and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH).

During the six-month implementation phase of the programme over 100,000 people were reached.

A mother with her young daughter, Kenya © Nell Freeman for the Alliance

SUPPORTING N

ATIONAL LEVEL POLICY

MALE IN

VOLVEMEN

T

EVALUATION SUMMARY

KENYA

UGANDA

ZAMBIA

SOUTH SUDAN

TODAY’S TRAINING HIGHLIGHTED THE FACT THAT wOMEN wEREN’T ACCESSING ANTENATAL CARE.

THEY wILL SHARE wHAT THEY HAVE LEARNT wITH THEIR COMMUNITIES.

Community member, South Sudan

COUNTRY HIGHLIGHTS

A baby is weighed at the health centre in the community, Zambia © Alliance

Community members wearing t-shirts with slogans to support the MNCH programme, Uganda © Alliance

KEY ACTIVITIESNational Partnership Platforms (NPPs), a collection of national civil society and community based organisations worked on a series of activities to increase the uptake of HIV and MNCH services, these included:

• Community outreach events • Distribution of information, education and communication materials• Radio talk shows in local languages• Structured training, targeting community members, traditional birth attendants, community health workers and peer educators• National policy dialogue events• Training Key Correspondents (citizen journalists supported by the Alliance)• Developing toolkits to support MNCH, HIV and SRH work• Meeting with policy and decision makers to brief them on MNCH, SRH and HIV issues• Collaboration with advocacy coalitions, including national campaigning