This evaluation of the Zimbabwean PMTCT programme is intended to gauge whether a successful treatment regime can be rolled out even through a resource-constrained national health system. Our PMTCT programme will prove that it is still possible to significantly reduce rates of mother-to-child HIV transmission against this backdrop.The intention is to leverage evidence and learning from Zimbabwe. EGPAF is supporting eight additional African countries to adopt more effective regimes and it is advocating with global and national decision-makers to sustain the political and financial commitment needed to roll out these projects.

EGPAF is the primary partner in providing technical support to the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW) to increase access to comprehensive, high-quality PMTCT services that are closely linked to HIV/AIDS treatment, care and support for families, including children living with HIV. EGPAF recently expanded its partnership with the MOHCW by supporting a package of district level activities to strengthen district-level PMTCT and pediatric services nationwide towards achieving the full-scale elimination of pediatric HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe.

EGPAF’s activities in Zimbabwe are carried out in partnership with three Family AIDS Initiatives (FAI) Consortium partners: the J.F. Kapnek Charitable Trust, the Organization for Public Health Interventions and Development (OPHID), and the Zimbabwe AIDS Prevention Project (ZAPP), all of whom provide technical assistance and resource support to the national program as guided by the national PMTCT and Pediatric HIV Strategic Plan.

EGPAF, together with its FAI Consortium partners, is supporting the expansion of comprehensive PMTCT services throughout Zimbabwe in collaboration with the MOHCW. EGPAF’s program implementation activities in Zimbabwe are focused on:

• Supporting the expansion and provision of high-quality PMTCT and HIV care and treatment services;
• Assisting in the development, review, and update of national policies and guidelines that strengthen and support expansion of PMTCT and HIV care and treatment programs, thus building the capacity of health care workers to provide support to adults, children, and families affected by HIV and AIDS; and
• Developing and strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems for improved PMTCT service delivery.

EGPAF advances research aimed at increasing access to and uptake of high-quality, integrated HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment services throughout the country.
Research activities include the review and enhancement of evidence-based HIV/AIDS programming, such as national program policy reviews and updates, and the analysis of PMTCT service cost-effectiveness to support implementation of the WHO 2010 Guidelines through an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and in collaboration with the MOHCW and Harvard University.