In partnership with local government entities, HAI conducted the first national assessments of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services in Côte d’Ivoire, informing national PMTCT implementation and data collection strategy.

In the process of planning a transition of PMTCT care regimens in Côte d’Ivoire, the National AIDS Program approached HAI to conduct back-to-back assessments of PMTCT service delivery both before and after the transition.

HAI worked closely with Côte d’Ivoire’s National Institute of Public Health and Université Alassane Ouattara to design and carry out two studies, based on nationally representative samples of 30 and 50 health facilities, respectively. The second study included a nested pilot of a multi-disciplinary patient tracking intervention designed to improve retention in care through information sharing.

The studies found that HIV testing and antiretroviral drug (ARV) delivery increased following the transition [Option A to Option B], while retention at 6 and 12 months remained steady or declined. The study also noted several health system and community-based factors that contributed to patient dropout, 50% of which occurred in the first 90 days following ARV delivery.  Another primary finding was large amounts of missing and discordant data. Notably, this included patient chart availability which varied substantially across all facilities. The intervention showed promise in identifying and improving data discrepancies and informing innovative, context-specific patient retention strategies.

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