[Viva] Fwd: New ICW and GNP+ study on early infant diagnosis calls for quality information and informed choices for women living with HIV

[Margarite Sanchez]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: GNP+ Communications <newsletter at gnpplus.net>
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2015 at 12:38 AM
Subject: New ICW and GNP+ study on early infant diagnosis calls for quality
information and informed choices for women living with HIV
To: "margaritesanchez at gmail.com" <margaritesanchez at gmail.com>


*Women are supposed to be given information on testing. No mother wants to
give birth to [a] HIV positive baby… the [reason] some of the women don’t
come for baby tests was because they were not given enough information on
the importance of baby testing.*

 – Woman living with HIV, Namibia



*Vancouver, Canada, 20 July 2015 — *Today, at the 8th International AIDS
Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS
2015), new community-led research conducted in Kenya, Namibia and Nigeria,
reveals that a lack of quality information and continued stigma and
discrimination against women living with HIV in health care settings is
hampering efforts to scale-up early infant diagnosis of HIV (EID).

The report, titled *Early Infant Diagnosis: Understanding the Perceptions,
Values and Preferences of Women living with HIV in Kenya, Namibia and
Nigeria,* explored the values and preferences of women living with HIV
regarding the current World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of
testing babies within the first 4–6 weeks of life in order to understand
facilitators of, and barriers to, follow-up testing. The research was
commissioned by the WHO to inform the development of new guidelines on EID
and conducted by the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW)
and the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+).

Women living with HIV in all three countries report that adequate
information and counseling on infant testing, including on the need to
return for a confirmatory diagnosis, are not provided systematically and
that vertical transmission programs have failed to sufficiently address
persistent stigma, discrimination and rights violations in healthcare
settings. For example, women in Kenya and Nigeria raised concerns that
health workers did not always seek their informed consent to perform HIV
tests.



*They didn’t seek my consent, it was more like force.*

*-      *Woman living with HIV, Nigeria



*The nurses don’t give information. The environment in the hospital is not
good because some of the nurses the way they talk to us patients is not
good. Instead of talking to you in a polite way they are just shouting at
you, laughing at you, saying look at yourself you are HIV positive and you
are giving birth. It is the attitude of the nurses that contributes to the
problem [of women not coming forward for infant testing].*

-        Woman living with HIV, Namibia

The WHO is considering new recommendations that infants born to women
living with HIV receive a virological test at birth, and then the infant
should be tested again at 4–6 weeks of age. Women in all three countries
saw potential benefits of this practice, such as reduced anxiety about
their child’s HIV status and knowing how to feed and care for the baby from
early on. However, they also expressed concerns including the psychological
impact of learning about their child’s HIV status soon after giving birth,
and risk of disclosure of HIV status to family members who would be present
at the birth.

Given the concerns about the potential increased stigma around testing at
birth, the report calls for women living with HIV to be provided with
information and counseled about testing options at an early stage (not just
prior to or directly after delivery), to give mothers time to make an
informed choice on the timing of HIV testing for infants.

“Women living with HIV must have access to accurate and comprehensive
information about all aspects of prevention of vertical transmission of
HIV, including infant testing and feeding, so that they can make informed
choices. Their choices must be respected and their human rights protected,”
said Rebecca Matheson, ICW Global Director.

The report highlights that increased uptake of infant testing is especially
dependent upon the quality and availability of peer support and counseling.
Pregnant women living with HIV reported receiving most information and
support from other mothers or pregnant women living with HIV.  Programs to
prevent vertical transmission of HIV, must recognize and support the
efforts of women living with HIV and their communities, or ambitious global
and national targets will remain unmet.

“As the WHO prepares to issue new guidance, and countries prepare to step
up their programs on early infant diagnosis, donors and governments need to
move from rhetoric to actual investment in community-led treatment literacy
and peer support.” said Suzette Moses Burton, Executive Director of GNP+.

*The full report is available at:*

www.iamicw.org/resources/document-library/early-infant-diagnosis-report

www.gnpplus.net/resources/early-infant-diagnosis/

*For more information contact:*

Florence Anam, advocacy at iamicw.org

International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW)

Aditi Sharma, aditi.campaigns at gmail.com

Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+)
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