Ninety percent of the three million HIV-infected people in sub-Sahara Africa are cases of Mother To Child Transmission (MTCT). Current data suggests that 1,600 children are born infected everyday in the sub-region (UNAIDS, 2002). This high MTCT is a reflection of the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS among adults, particularly childbearing women as is the case in Cameroon.

Numerous reports focusing on Cameroon reveal that, alongside a dramatic rise in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS from 1% in 1989 to 11.8% in 2001 (UNAIDS, 2002), is a rise in the proportion of HIV-positive prenatal clinic attendees from 1% in the1980s to 5.5% in 1995 (MOH, 1996) and later to 6-19%. This rise in prevalence among clinic attendees has serious implications for MTCT and child survival. Mounting evidence largely attributes the current reversal in the 1980s’ huge gains in child survival to vertical transmission of HIV.

The Mother To Child Program is dedicated to preventing the transfer of AIDS/HIV from mother to child. This is done through implementing the prevention of mother to child transmission (pMTCT) during pre and post natal care.

This project proposes to implement the national policy and enhance integration of pMTCT into routine pre- and postnatal care in 12 health facilities. The services, particularly four run by the Diocese of Buea, handle a greater volume of pre- and postnatal care than the public sector because patients in this area generally prefer faith-based health care.

The targeted facilities cover a population of about 200,000 of which 9.8% is composed of pregnant women and nursing mothers. HIV/AIDS knowledge is uneven in this population. For example, more men than women aged 15-49 years in the area know no means of preventing HIV (20.9% of men versus 9.5% women) or believe that a healthy-looking person cannot be HIV-positive (23.3% versus 16.1%). An effective pMTCT involving behavior change communication among private and public pre- and postnatal clinic attendees and providers would greatly assist to close the gap in knowledge and reduce conditions that promote MTCT.

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