Pregnant women called to enroll for antenatal care for an HIV free Cameroon

(Spiritual leaders to revert their role played in the fight against HIV)
By Sarah Nkongho Ojong in Mutengene
With the goal of increasing HIV free survival and reducing HIV related maternal and child mortality by scaling up Antenatal Care (ANC) uptake and strengthening the quality of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) services of HIV virus within the south west and north west regions up to 90% in pregnant women and exposed infants by 2016, pregnant women have been urged to be aware of the need to attend ANC in the early stages of pregnancy.
    This was during the south west media representative workshop organized by the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Board, CBCHB Mutengene, Monday June 3o, 2014 under the supervision of the HIV free southwest project experts.

    Attending ANC, the woman benefits from numerous advantages like being diagnosed whether the fetus is healthy and growing normally, whether the woman has enough blood to sustain herself and the baby and the subsequent provision of blood tonics to improve on her blood level, the administration of vaccines to prevent the unborn baby from contracting diseases and eventual blindness, anti malarial drugs and mosquito nets, most of which services are free of charge.
    According to the Manager of the HIV free south west project, Madam Eveline Mboh, the project uses ANC as the number one entry point for the PMTCT as the ANC entails a pregnant woman being tested for HIV and if tested positive, she is immediately put under treatment so as to avoid the transmission of the virus from the pregnant mother to the unborn child.
Following statistics presented during the workshop, the 5 year project initiated in 2011 and in its 3rd year so far has registered an increase in the percentage of pregnant women tested and are aware of their results. In the south west region, an increase from 43.6% to 49% and 50.6% to 59% in the northwest region, and a total of 33,187 women tested in ANC with 13,633 and 19,554 in the South west and North West respectively though the project target stands at 96,000 women in both regions.
    Statistics also indicate that more than 95% of pregnant women accept to be tested and receive treatment for fear of infecting their unborn babies but only a few of less than 45% actually continue their treatment, most of whose reasons are based on their spirituality- ‘my pastor said he will pray for me and I will be healed,…’ To this, men of God have been identified as an ‘obstacle’ as far as achieving PMTCT is concerned and an HIV free Cameroon too. It can be attested by many who have seen such cases of persons living with HIV who start treatment and are faring well, suddenly along the line just stop while moving from one crusade ground and church to another in search of healing to no avail, and when the virus breaks down all their system, by the time they run back to the hospital for treatment again, they are already gone. 
    Other challenges faced by the project include actually getting pregnant women to attend ANC and pursue HIV treatment, absence of personnel in most of the health districts in remote areas, inaccessible and long distances to be covered by the pregnant women and very difficult terrains to get to district health centers in areas like Nwa, Akwaya, Ako, Fruawah, Bakassi, Wabane amongst other areas plus the existence of many unauthorized clinics conducting deliveries for pregnant women and not even keeping the data for references so as not to be taxed.
In order to achieve the goal of 90% and get 96000 women at ANC and tested for the project, the CBCHB has adopted the implementation of test and treat called the Option B+ which enables the pregnant woman living with HIV to be healthy, completely erases the chances of transmission from mother to child and even her partner in case of an HIV positive and HIV negative partners living together all at the same time. It should be noted that the Option B+ treatment has replaced the Prophylaxis whose aim was just to reduce the chances of transmission and is administered from the day the mother is tested positive to be continued for the rest of her life. The persons are also placed under the CD4testing every 6months to check the level of the virus in them.
     Besides the implementation of the Option B+, the board has also ensured the provision of HIV testing kits in all 37 health districts involved in the fight both in the northwest and south west regions to strengthen the supply chain management, improvement of the pediatric care sector by hiring doctors who are trained specifically as pediatrician following the low number of pediatricians in the health milieu. The southwest region for instance, barely has a total of less than 10 pediatricians all over the region. In addition, women specialized in doing home deliveries, some under very horrible hygienic conditions will be automatically trained on midwifery so as to ameliorate and reduce chances of the new born baby and even the mother contracting HIV. There are motor bike riders in almost all areas of the two regions where the roads are inaccessible to transport samples for diagnosis and take back the results to tested persons for subsequent actions.
    How then will all these measures put in place get to the entire community, reason why the media representative workshop took place so we are calling on pastors especially whose Christians look up to them as leaders and fathers here on earth to sensitize their Christians on the benefits of being tested for HIV and receiving treatment, though they will be prayed for, community leaders- chiefs, njangi leaders, women forum leaders, saloon owners to all join in increasing ANC uptake by pregnant women and PMTCT.