Mothers and Babies
Kenya is among the 22 countries that collectively account for 90% of pregnant women living with HIV according to the eMTCT framework for Kenya
This means that a significant number of babies are at risk of HIV infection through mother to child transmission. Majority of these infections are preventable if interventions to reduce this are carried out at the right time.
In line with MDGs 4 and 5 CHS contributes to reducing the number of deaths and illnesses associated with pregnancy and child birth through scaling up Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) services, supporting human resources for service delivery in facilities, training health care workers, community linkages and psychosocial support aimed at eliminating mother to child transmission of HIV.
This has been achieved through integration of ART services into the mother and child health clinic, employing clinical officers dedicated to PMTCT, synchronisation of HIV Exposed Infants (HEI) care with immunisation, peer education and psychosocial support by mentor mothers and defaulter identification and tracking mechanisms. Further, CHS is implementing a male involvement program to help men support their partners in preventing transmission to their infants.
In 2012/213, 1,260 HIV infected pregnant women were put on ARV Prophylaxis to prevent mother to child infection
In line with the Kenya Mentor Mother Program (KMMP), CHS provides peer education and psychosocial support for pregnant and post-natal women diagnosed with HIV; with 28 mentor mothers currently supported in high volume facilities.
Solutions for HIV exposed infants (HEI) ensure that children born to Women Living with HIV (WLHIV) receive life saving interventions and care in the first two years of life.
CHS supports interventions to reduce maternal, infant and child mortality such as training health care workers in emergency obstetric, new-born and child care, equipping delivery units with resuscitation equipment, and provision of job aids.
Reproductive Health Solutions
The unmet need for family planning (FP) services in Kenya remains high especially among HIV infected women, with about 60% not being on a regular form of contraception.
CHS recognises that reproductive health services including family planning are essential not only in helping eliminate mother to child transmission but also in enhancing the well-being of women and their families. CHS promotes the uptake of family planning among HIV infected women through integrating FP services to HIV treatment and care services with a focus on ensuring both long and short term methods are available at the comprehensive HIV care centres. CHS also builds capacity of health care workers through training and mentorship in order to increase uptake of FP among HIV infected women. CHS has stepped up its interventions against cervical cancer and aims at curbing the number of deaths from cervical cancer through promoting early diagnosis, treatment of precancerous lesions and linkage to advanced treatment as needed. CHS supports this through training and mentorship of health care workers and linkage of health facilities to cryotherapy services.
Adolescent and Youth Solutions
9.2 million youth aged 10-19 in Kenya (2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census)
CHS recognises that young people are at an increased risk of HIV infection due to their exposure to risky sexual behaviour and thus seeks to offer optimal health solutions for this special group.
To improve the quality of care for adolescents, CHS has built the capacity of 30 health care workers (HCWs) on care for adolescents living with HIV. The training was informed by the fact that adolescents living with HIV face unique health, adherence and psychosocial challenges, yet often health workers are ill equipped to understand and meet these needs. The HCWs are equipped with skills to implement adolescent friendly services and promptly identify mental health problems and either handle them or refer appropriately.
CHS also supports 30 adolescent peer educators who have been trained with skills to be role models of positive living and to support disclosure and adherence to HIV care and treatment among adolescents. They are equipped with skills to identify the special needs of the rest of the adolescents and put in place remedial measures such as one-on-one discussions, group education and relevant referrals. In collaboration with the peer educators, HCWs have managed to set up 49 adolescent psychosocial support groups reaching 759 adolescents.
Progress in Numbers:
- 1,309 adolescents enrolled into care
- 30 adolescent peer educators supported
- 30 health care workers trained in adolescent HIV care
- 759 adolescents enrolled in psychosocial support groups