Community Prevention of Mother To Child HIV Transmmission Project
The Project Manager: Dr. Twetegerize Ben.
Background
In July 2008, ICOBI won a competitive grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement a Community PMTCT program in Uganda with special focus on Ankole region.
Geographical coverage
The program covers the districts of Bushenyi, Ntugamo, Isingiro, Ibanda, Kiruhuura and Mbarara. By the year 2012, the program is expected to have reached a population of 2.5 million people.
Target Population
Primary : Approximately 120,000 pregnant women and their spouses.
Secondary : Members of households affected by HIV/AIDS
Tertiary : Community, district and national leaders
Project Goals
The goal of the PMTCT project is to see the dawn of an HIV free generation in Uganda, specifically in the South-Western Region in the next five years.
Project Overrall Objectives
The overall objective of this project is to contribute towards the improvement of child survival through increased uptake of Prevention of mother to child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services and providing care & support to infected parents and their families using community based and family centered strategies.
Project strategic Objectives
Primary prevention of HIV.
Prevention of unintended Pregnancies among Women Living with HIV.
Reduction of HIV transmission from pregnant or lactating women living with HIV to their babies.
Provision of care, treatment and support to women living with HIV and their families.
Advocacy, capacity building and behavior change communication for community PMTCT competence.
The program expects to see increased;
Routine couple counseling and testing of HIV at facility level
Antenatal care attendance with high level of male participation
Supervised deliveries in health units
Access to HIV basic care package for the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV
Male involvement in delivery and postnatal care
Planned Pregnancies
Key Activities
Building the capacity of Resident Parish Mobilizers (RPMs) and Community PMTCT Officers (CPOs) through training workshops.
Carrying out community awareness using various channels; community drama, weekly radio shows, sporting events and film shows.
Carrying out home visits by RPMs to do counseling, referrals, client follow-ups, distribution of IEC materials and other family planning commodities.
Building partnerships with People Living with HIV/AIDS, Village Health Teams (VHTs), government departments, districts, hospitals, health units, and other service and media organizations.
Carrying out PMTCT advocacy among all leaders at national, district and community levels.
Production and distribution of appropriate Information Education and Communication (IEC) materials
HIV Counseling and Testing of couples in communities
Identification and referral for early infant diagnosis
Key Partners
Ministry of Health, District Local Government, MPs, EGPAF, and PACE. More partners expected on board include; TASO, AIC, JCRC, MJAP, UPHOLD, CRS, Children Aids Fund, District Health Departments, Private and public hospitals and health units, among others. ICOBI also works with health promotion programs like the YEAH Campaign and Straight Talk Foundation. The aim is to maximize benefits of wrap-around initiatives to achieve the goal and objectives of this project.
Achievements
Trained 50 Community PMTCT Officers (CPOs)
Trained 264 resident parish mobilizers (RPMs).
Held partnership meetings with leaders in Bushenyi and Ntungamo districts.
Launched the Community PMTCT program officially on 31st March 2009. The First Lady, MP for Ruhaama and Minister for Karamoja Affaires, Janet Museveni was the Chief Guest.
