Infant feeding and HIV/AIDS

Each year more than half a million infants become infected with HIV-the majority acquiring the infection from mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and through breastfeeding. AED recognized this tragic situation and has been in the forefront of research and programs to support safer infant feeding practices in the context of HIV. AED experts have worked with WHO to develop feeding assessment and counseling tools, to develop global guidance on infant feeding by HIV infected mothers, and to identify indicators for global reporting and program monitoring and evaluation. In Zambia, Malawi, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, and Tanzania, AED has provided support to revise national infant feeding policies, to assess and strengthen health services, and to train health workers and community support group members on prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and infant feeding. AED staff have also published groundbreaking studies on breastfeeding and HIV, the impact of counseling to reduce HIV transmission through breastfeeding, risks and challenges of early breastfeeding cessation, and nutritional support for HIV-infected and exposed infants after six months of age.

Click to learn more about AED's Infant feeding and HIV/AIDS projects:

• Africa's Health in 2010
• Breastfeeding, Antiretroviral drugs, and Nutrition Study (BAN)
• Counseling Tools on HIV and Infant Feeding
• Zambia PMTCT Project
• LINKAGES PROJECT
• Nutrition Strategy Analysis
• PROFILES
• REDUCE-ALIVE
• Umoyo Network HIV/AIDS Project

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