Vertical Transmission Prevention
What is Vertical Transmission for HIV Prevention?
Vertical transmission of HIV (also known as mother to child transmission and abbreviated as ‘MTCT’) has been virtually eliminated in the global North. This is because treatment to prevent HIV infection in newborns has been available for over a decade. The treatment involves is providing a simple, affordable bio-medical intervention, providing ARV drugs to mother and child at birth, to a highly visible and easy to reach target population. Research into improved design of vertical transmission services at birth and during breastfeeding remain an important goal in reducing infant HIV infection.
Vertical Transmission Prevention Investment
Funding for operations research related to prevention of vertical transmission from mother to child at birth and during breastfeeding was US$43.1 million in 2011. The public sector accounted for the majority of this funding, with the US, through the NIH and USAID, contributing 84 percent. Other public-sector agencies—ANRS, the Institut Pasteur, CHVI, CIDA and CIHR, SIDA and the UK Medical Research Council (MRC)—provided 15 percent of total funding. In 2011, studies testing vertical transmission prevention focused on transmission at birth and through breastfeeding, and on ARV resistance in HIV-positive women who were taking ARV regimens designed to prevent vertical transmission.
