Ethiopia's PMTCT plan needs men to participate in order to reach goal, experts say

"Ethiopia's new plan to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015 cannot be attained unless men are more meaningfully involved in reproductive health, experts say," PlusNews reports. Ethiopia launched an accelerated prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program in December with "three objectives: reaching 90 percent of pregnant women with access to antenatal care services; ensuring universal access by pregnant women to a skilled attendant during delivery; and providing ARVs to at least 80 percent of HIV-positive pregnant women," according to the news service.

"According to experts, men's involvement … can have a positive impact on PMTCT by encouraging their partners to visit antenatal clinics and have skilled health workers attend the birth of their children. In a 2010 Kenyan study, male partner involvement in PMTCT reduced the risks of vertical transmission and infant mortality by more than 40 percent compared to no involvement," PlusNews writes (1/4).