Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Paediatric HIV Care and Treatment Monitoring: From Measuring Process to Impact and Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

Progress towards achievement of global targets for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and paediatric HIV care and treatment is an integral part of global and national HIV and AIDS responses. This paper documents the development of the global and national monitoring and reporting systems for PMTCT and paediatric HIV care and treatment programmes, achievements and remaining challenges. A review of the development of the monitoring and reporting process since 2002–2016 was conducted using existing published literature and taking into account changes in WHO HIV treatment guidelines, global HIV goals and targets, programmatic and methodological developments, and increased need for interagency partnerships, coordination and harmonization of global monitoring and reporting mechanisms. The number and type of indicators reported increased and evolved from monitoring of existence of national policies and guidelines, service delivery sites and trained health workers and coverage of PMTCT and paediatric HIV interventions to measuring outcomes and impact in reducing new HIV infections and AIDS related deaths, including efforts to validate elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. These changes were required to mirror changes in WHO and national PMTCT and HIV treatment guidelines. The number of countries reporting PMTCT coverage increased from 53 in 2003 to over 130 in 2015. National monitoring processes have also expanded in scope and the capacity to report on disaggregated data by type of ARV regimen and for paediatric HIV care and treatment has increased. Monitoring of PMTCT and paediatric HIV programmes has contributed a rich body of evidence that helped monitor how quickly countries were adopting and implementing the latest WHO HIV treatment guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women and children. The reported data and experiences were instrumental in shaping global policies, national programmes, and investment choices.