Summits - SBCC and C4D
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Summits - SBCC and C4D
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Reasons for Loss to Follow-up among Mothers Registered in a Prevention-of-Mother-to-Child Transmission Program in Rural Malawi

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Bwirire LD, Fitzgerald M, Zachariah R et al. Reasons for Loss to Follow-up among Mothers Registered in a Prevention-of-Mother-to-Child Transmission Program in Rural Malawi. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2008;102:1195-1200.

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to identify reasons for a high and progressive loss to follow-up among HIV-positive mothers within a prevention-of-mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) program in a rural district hospital in Malawi.

METHODS: Three focus group discussions were conducted among a total of 25 antenatal and post-natal mothers as well as nurse midwives (median age 39 years, range 22-55 years).

FINDINGS: The main reasons for loss to follow-up included: (1) not being prepared for HIV testing and its implications before the antenatal clinic (ANC) visit; (2) fear of stigma, discrimination, household conflict and even divorce on disclosure of HIV status; (3) lack of support from husbands who do not want to undergo HIV testing; (4) the feeling that one is obliged to rely on artificial feeding, which is associated with social and cultural taboos; (5) long waiting times at the ANC; and (6) inability to afford transport costs related to the long distances to the hospital.

CONCLUSION: This study reveals a number of community- and provider-related operational and cultural barriers hindering the overall acceptability of PMTCT that need to be addressed urgently. Mothers attending antenatal services need to be better informed and supported, at both community and health-provider level.

ERT included paper – was not in the scan results