Project Focus
HIV Care & Treatment

Project Location
Inner City Johannesburg health facilities, including the Johannesburg Hospital and Hillbrow Community Health Centre

Duration of Project
Ongoing since mid 2004

Project Partners
Gauteng Department of Health

Project Donors
PEPFAR

Contact
Dr Viv Black, MHHIV Project Leader

Project Aim/ Objective
To develop a service and guidelines for pregnant women and new mothers that can be replicated in the public sector throughout the country. This includes the development of comprehensive care services for pregnant HIV positive women, which enable qualifying women to access ARV triple therapy during pregnancy to improve their health and reduce the risk of HIV infection to their babies. In addition, the project aims to support HIV positive new mothers in the first few months after the birth of their babies to ensure adherence to ARV drug regimens, and provide support before, during and after confirmation of the baby’s HIV status.

Project Activities

• To continue to improve ANC care for HIV+ pregnant women through support to a special clinic that provides HIV specific care, treatment, advice and referral.
• To establish a post natal clinic for new mothers to provide them with HIV specific care, treatment, advice and referral
• To develop counseling models that provide advice and support for HIV positive pregnant women and new mothers relating to ARV’s, baby’s HIV status, infant feeding, nutritional advice, contraception and fertility advice, and partner involvement and HIV screening.
• Development of guidelines for the care of women and their infants in the perinatal period for adoption in resource poor settings.
• Dissemination of best practice through training programmes and materials for service providers, policy makers and health service managers.

Anticipated/Actual Results

• Improved quality of care for pregnant women, new mothers and infants
• Promotion and adoption of comprehensive care services for perinatal women and their infants in the public health sector
• Reduced number of HIV positive children and orphans.
• 507 families have attended the clinic since it was established.
• Promotion of dry blood spot and DNA PCR testing for HIV in infants at 6 weeks (now transferred to paediatric clinic)
• Involvement and testing of men, and the appropriate counseling and referral as required.
• Provision of training of doctors, students and nurses in the management of HIV infected patients and in postnatal care and the development of PHC nurses in managing HIV infected persons on antiretrovirals. These nurses work in a safe environment and are supported by a medical doctor while they gain experience in the use of ARVs.

Additional Outputs

• Booklet describing the establishment of the ante-natal clinic at the Johannesburg Hospital
• Two page brief on the establishment of an ante-natal clinic

Future Plans

• The project is now establishing an outreach project to provide training and technical support in ante natal and post natal HIV care at surrounding clinics and referral facilities.

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