Evidence-based practices for retention in care of mother-infant pairs in the context of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Eastern and Southern Africa: A summary with guidance for scale up
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
For countries to achieve the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (EMTCT), mothers and their infants must remain in care through the cessation of breastfeeding and beyond. While many countries in Eastern and Southern Africa have made significant strides in reducing motherto-child transmission (MTCT) rates at six weeks, the final MTCT rates at the end of the breastfeeding period remain stubbornly high.
This can be attributed in large part to suboptimal adherence and retention of mother-infant pairs after childbirth.
This study was commissioned by UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) to document and disseminate evidence-based practices and learning to improve retention in care. It is hoped that the documented practices together with the tools and resources identified will support countries to strengthen their prevention of mother-tochild transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programmes and improve outcomes for mothers, children and their families.
Multiple research methods were used, including literature review, key informant interviews and visits to Eswatini, Kenya and Zimbabwe. A total of 44 published studies and grey literature texts were included in the review, and 45 experts were interviewed. As outlined in Table 1, ten evidence-based practices were identified and organized in four intervention areas.