Infant feeding counseling in programmes to prevent mother to child transmission of hiv (PMTCT) in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Background: Infant feeding in the context of HlV poses complex challenges to PMTCT programsin Sub-Saharan Africa. A 2003 report of the evaluation of UNICEF supported pilot sites singledout infant feeding counseling as the most challenging component ofPMTCT program intervention(Rutenberg 2003). The challenge of infant feeding is attributable to two main facts; that breastfeeding,especially for the first six months, is critical for child survival (WHO 1989) and that breast-feedingaccounts for approximately 44% ofthe MTCT oflllV (Nduati 2000). In the past two decades,various global initiatives and policies have promoted breastfeeding as a basic tenet for child survival. With the advent of the HfV pandemic however, the need to promote appropriate infant feedingpractices that minimize MTCT of'HfV has also become paramount, especially in the SubSaharanAfrica (SSA) region that bears 90% of the global paediatric Hl'V burden.