Dr. Gregorio Soriano, director of the USAID-financed Strengthening of HIV/AIDS Services Program says that mother-child transmission of AIDS has declined from 11.1% to 2.7%, for a 76% drop over the past four years. He said that the program’s work covered 44 hospitals and 616 schools, reaching 845,591 people. USAID contributed US$17 million to fund the project and another US$6 million in equipment for hospital, educational and NGO prevention programs. He said that at the start of the project a national study showed the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child was 11.1% from 1999-2008. A follow-up study showed that from 2009-2011 the rate fell to 4% and at the end of the period of the study, it has declined to 2.7%. He said, “this means that it is down to three children for every 111 mothers with the condition in our area of influence.”
The program reached out to 705,089 children and teenagers in 610 public schools and 79,262 high-risk individuals, including prostitutes and clients, gay men and residents of sugar cane cutter settlements (bateyes). Some 400 doctors working in Ministry of Public Health primary care units received training to help prevent the disease.
For over 15 years, USAID has supported the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Dominican Republic. USAID is now a key partner in the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest and most diverse HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment initiative in the world. Under this initiative, USAID is supporting the strengthening of HIV/AIDS services in the Dominican Republic through technical support to the Government of the Dominican Republic. In addition USAID is providing technical assistance to civil society organizations in the areas of prevention, treatment, and care in the eastern and border regions of the country.
www.listin.com.do/la-republica/2013/1/25/263470/RD-reduce-la-transmision-vertical-del-virus-del-sida/
http://transition.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/aids/Countries/lac/dominicanrep.html