What does PMTCT stand for?

Dhaka, May 22 -- Members of the HIV treatment coalition at a meeting in Geneva on Friday identified the failure of the international community in preventing vertical transmission, also known as prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT).

Despite the availability of interventions that can prevent HIV infection from being transmitted from a mother to her newborn, vertical transmission still occurs in the United States--mainly because HIV-positive women are not always identified as such during pregnancy As a result, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a policy statement emphasizing the key role that universal HIV testing of pregnant women plays in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the virus.

Testing pregnant women for HIV at the time of labour and delivery is the last opportunity for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), particularly in settings such as India where many women present for delivery without prior antenatal care.

Condom distribution received only 6 percent of allocated prevention funding, while prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission just 5 percent.

40,000 is going to help the Ekwendeni Hospital AIDS program expand its voluntary counselling and testing, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission activities.

Such integration can contribute to the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in several ways: * Integrating HIV counseling into family planning services helps prevent infection among women of reproductive age.

In heavily affected countries, only about 1% of women have access to services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission.

New data on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and their policy implications--Conclusions and recommendations.