The Heart–to-Heart (H2H) Ambassadors of the Ghana AIDS Commission have kick-started a campaign which aims at reaching pregnant women with information on HIV treatment services.
Dubbed H2H ANC Caravan, the H2H Ambassadors will encourage prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and couple testing and counselling during the visits to antenatal and antiretroviral sites in fourteen health facilities in Greater Accra Region.
The primary mode of transmission of HIV in children and infants is from mother to child during pregnancy, labour and delivery, or during breastfeeding.
For this reason, the ANC and ART site tour will offer the H2H Ambassadors the opportunity to dispel misconceptions that impede antenatal attendance and HIV treatment.
It is also in line with the global and national call for the virtual elimination of HIV transmission from mother to child by 2015.
The tour which will be officially launched at the La General Hospital on Wednesday 15th April, 2015, started at the Ridge Hospital.
The H2H team led by Rev. John Azumah visited the Antenatal Care Unit of the Ridge Hospital in Accra where expectant mothers were counselled on the need to know their HIV status and be put on treatment to stop the transmission of HIV from mother to baby.
Welcoming the team to the Ridge Hospital, the Medical Director at the Ridge Hospital, Obeng-Apori commended the Ghana AIDS Commission for effectively collaborating the National HIV Response and called for continuous co-operation with stakeholders to scale up the successes already chalked.
Reverend Azumah on his part encouraged the pregnant women not to be apprehensive when asked to check their HIV status but see it as a means of safeguarding the health of both mother and baby.
He explained that mothers who test positive would be put on antiretroviral treatment to ensure the safety of the babies before and after birth.
Rev Azumah tasked the pregnant women to encourage their partners to join them when going for antenatal services.
He called for people to support of family members whose relatives are living with HIV and avoid stigmatisation.
This was also echoed by the other H2H Ambassadors who urged the pregnant women on antiretroviral treatment (ART) to take their drugs as prescribed by health practitioners.
They explained that, with ART an HIV positive mother’s chances of transferring the virus to her baby reduces to lower than five percent as opposed to the about 40 % chance, if the woman is not on treatment.
One of the H2H Ambassadors, Ms Charity Owusu Danso, who has a three-month old baby girl delivered at the Ridge Hospital, lauded the staff of the unit for the great services they have being rendered to people living with HIV.
The team, supported by Madam Mercy Acquah-Hayford, a Deputy Director of Nursing Services in charge of Anti Retroviral Therapy at Ridge Hospital took time to answer the questions asked by the women at the antenatal site.
At the ART unit, persons living with HIV who had come for treatment were also enlightened on how to live healthy lifestyles and stick to the directives of health professionals.
They were also given the opportunity to share their experiences and also ask questions.
The Heart-to-Heart Ambassadors are four persons living with HIV who have dedicated their lives to sharing their life stories to encourage a more tolerant attitude towards persons living with HIV who face stigma and discrimination daily.
The H2H Ambassadors will visit fourteen (14) facilities within the Greater Accra region. They will spend one (1) day in each facility and visit both ANC and ART sites if available.
