Focus on
 Published in February 2008
NAMIBIA

HIV & Newborns
Reducing Transmission from Mother to Child

The reduction of transmission of HIV from pregnant women to their children is one of the key goals of the health service in Namibia, with the ultimate goal of eliminating mother to child transmission altogether. More health facilities are working to that aim; one is the state hospital in the Oshana region of Northern Namibia.


Dr. Hamata on reducing trans- mission of HIV from mother to child
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"... only 4 percent of the babies who have tested are positive ..."


Dr. Hamata on reducing stigma around HIV
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"... helping the population to reduce the stigma ..."
Dr. Nafthali Hamata, regional director of health services for the Oshana region explains that one in four of the pregnant mothers coming to the clinic are HIV positive. That rate is high compared with other parts of the country (where the rate is closer to one in five), but the program to prevent mother to child transmission is so effective that less than five percent of newborn babies are born with HIV.

Dr. Hamata, sees patients from up to 70 kilometres away. His patients come once a month to receive their free AIDS drugs, known as ARVs. They patiently wait in line and every month the line gets longer as more people learn about the therapy and come forward to get treated.
Mothers wait outside a clinic to get treatment so their children are born without HIV