Providing Technical Assistance for Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Services in the Republic of Tanzania (USAID/PEPFAR)

Overview

The objective of the bilateral agreement with USAID/Tanzania was to expand access to PMTCT services and strengthen linkages for pregnant women and their HIV-exposed infants to care and treatment within the public setting. EGPAF focused on integrating PMTCT services into routine maternal-child health services. Since the start of its PMTCT program in 2003, EGPAF has significantly contributed to the goal of the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) and the United States Government to expand and improve PMTCT services in Tanzania. This program sought to:

• Increase access to quality PMTCT services, including linkages to care and treatment for women, children, and their families in Tanzania;
• Support the MOHSW in rolling out the national PMTCT program using national guidelines and training curricula;
• Increase the number of women and families enrolled in care and treatment programs by strengthening linkages between PMTCT and care and treatment;
• Increase uptake of ARV prophylaxis in HIV-positive pregnant women and HIV-exposed infants;
• Scale up the use of combination regimens in PMTCTStrengthen the integration of PMTCT and maternal and neonatal health services to contribute to the improvement of maternal and neonatal health.

By the end of the project, EGPAF’s program contributed to approximately 27% of the national PMTCT coverage of pregnant women tested, and supported 25% of health facilities nationwide (1,065) providing PMTCT. EGPAF supported services in the regions of Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Mtwara, Shinyanga, and Tabora through 37 sub-grants, primarily with district councils. In these five regions, the geographic coverage of PMTCT services was greater than 80%, and the program tested more than 1,556,260 pregnant women since project inception.