Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the National Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) Programme on Infant HIV measured at Six Weeks Postpartum in South Africa

Within ten years of implementing the national Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme in South Africa interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV are now offered in more than 95% of public antenatal and maternity facilities country-wide. However, this is the first national evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the National PMTCT programme. The 2010 South African PMTCT Evaluation (SAPMTCTE) will serve as a baseline to monitor the effectiveness of the antenatal and intrapartum aspects of the national PMTCT programme (i.e., early MTCT rates). The survey will be repeated in 2011 and 2012 (during which postnatal transmission at 6, 9, 12 and 18 months will also be measured) to track progress with reduction in MTCT rates during pregnancy, labour and delivery, and postpartum. This will provide a field-based, systematic approach to estimating the overall population-based transmission rate and the number of new paediatric infections at 4-8 weeks of infant age.