Maternal-infant health

The program for protecting maternal-infant health has “absorbed” and broadened the activities foreseen by the “Mamy” Project. The aim is the prevention of maternal-fetal transmission of the HIV virus , and is inserted into the wider socio-health program of World Friends, having the goal to improve the health conditions of the poorest sectors of the Nairobi urban slums population.

The program’s activities include: counselling, rapid HIV tests, obstetrical treatments for pregnant HIV-positive women, antiretroviral prophylaxis, treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, daily facility for general medicine and paediatrics, supply of medicines.

The programme hopess to involve an even larger number of pregnant patients, children, street urchins. Their families will be followed up and assisted, both from the health as well as from the economic side.

Mary’s story
Two metres by two, made of tin, without windows. This is the shack where Mary Nyambura lives. Just think that her parents gave her the most desirable name possible for an African: Nyambura means water, in Kikuya, rain. Mary did the HIV test during her third month of pregnancy and resulted positive. Her husband was a policeman, very often away from home, and violent. When he heard about the result, he beat Mary savagely and threw her out of the house. Mary decided to continue with her pregnancy and attended a WF clinic where she was then followed up until her delivery. During labour she was administered the prophylaxis against maternal-fetal transmission of the Hiv VIRUS. Jacob was born. He was a healthy baby weighing 3 kilos and was given Nevirapine syrup, the prophylaxis against HIV/AIDS. Today Jacob is 18 months old, and the HIV test has resulted negative. Mary is continuing her therapy, is eating wisely and is very well.

The seroprevalence of HIV infection in pregnant women in Africa is above 20%: in many regions, perinatal rates of HIV transmission of between 20-42% have been reported.
In the urban areas of Kenya, particularly in the Nairobi slums, a prevalence among pregnant women of 20-35% has been reported. Transmission takes place during pregnancy (20-35%), during labour (35-50%) and during breastfeeding (15-45%).