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| Date Added to Site: 24th January 2007 | ||
| Short Summary | ||
| Title | Pregnant Women Living with HIV/AIDS: Protecting Human Rights in Programs to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV | |
| Author | Center for Reproductive Rights | |
| Publication Date | August 2005 | |
| Publisher | Center for Reproductive Rights | |
| Short Summary |
Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programmes are designed to reduce the rate of transmission from a woman to her fetus (unborn baby) or newborn during pregnancy, delivery, or the post-birth period. While the benefits of PMTCT programmes are considerable, they are primarily conceived of as prevention programmes for infants, leaving the concerns of women living with HIV/AIDS largely invisible and ignoring their rights as patients. This briefing paper addresses the fundamental human rights standards that governments must uphold in creating PMTCT programmes. These standards include the right to informed consent, provider-patient confidentiality, and health-care access without discrimination. To ensure that women are treated with dignity and respect through every phase of HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care, recommendations for policymakers are outlined: • Remember that the woman is the patient. Respect for women's dignity and rights encourages informed decision-making among women, who may be more willing to participate in programmes once they know their decisions will be respected; • Increase health providers' understanding of the links between human rights and HIV/AIDS programming through training; and • Reduce stigma by integrating PMTCT programmes within prenatal care facilities rather than making women go to specifically designed facilities to access PMTCT services which may reveal their HIV status to the community. |
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| Complete Document |
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