Assessment of policy and access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services for men who have sex with men and for sex workers in Burkina Faso and Togo.

BACKGROUND: In Burkina Faso and Togo, key populations of men who have sex with men (MSM) and sex workers (SW) have a disproportionately higher HIV prevalence. This study analyzed the 2 countries' policies impacting MSM and SW; to what extent the policies and programs have been implemented; and the role of the enabling environment, country leadership, and donor support. METHODS: The Health Policy Project's Policy Assessment and Advocacy Decision Model methodology was used to analyze policy and program documents related to key populations, conduct key informant interviews, and hold stakeholder meetings to validate the findings. RESULTS: Several policy barriers restrict MSM/SW from accessing services. Laws criminalizing MSM/SW, particularly anti-solicitation laws, result in harassment and arrests of even nonsoliciting MSM/SW. Policy gaps exist, including few MSM/SW-supportive policies and HIV prevention measures, e.g., lubricant not included in the essential medicines list. The needs of key populations are generally not met due to policy gaps around MSM/SW participation in decision-making and funding allocation for MSM/SW-specific programming. Misaligned policies, eg, contradictory informed consent laws and protocols, and uneven policy implementation, such as stockouts of sexually transmitted infection kits, HIV testing materials, and antiretrovirals, undermine evidence-based policies. Even in the presence of a supportive donor and political community, public stigma and discrimination (S&D) create a hostile enabling environment. CONCLUSIONS: Policies are needed to address S&D, particularly health care provider and law enforcement training, and to authorize, fund, guide, and monitor services for key populations. MSM/SW participation and development of operational guidelines can improve policy implementation and service uptake.

Terms used for people living with HIV in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

For this study we conducted in-depth interviews with 29 youth living with HIV (YLWH) and key informant interviews with 8 HIV care/support providers. We describe terms used to portray people living with HIV (PLWH) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Labels commonly used, mostly derogatory, described PLWH as walking corpses, dangers to others, or people deserving to die before others get infected. Blame and other accusations were directed at PLWH through anchoring or objectification. Being labeled sometimes made these youth suffer in silence, afraid to disclose their status, or avoid performing actions in public, preferring to let others do them. YLWH need psychosocial support to mitigate the harmful effects of these labels and strengthen their coping skills, whereas community, institutional, and national efforts are needed for stigma reduction.

Antenatal and delivery services in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: care-seeking and experiences reported by women in a household-based survey.

OBJECTIVES: Increasing coverage of quality reproductive health services, including prevention of mother-to-child transmission services, requires understanding where and how these services are provided. To inform scale-up, we conducted a population-based survey in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. METHODS: Stratified two-stage cluster sampling was used to select women ≥18 years old who had been pregnant within the prior three years. Participants were interviewed about their reproductive healthcare utilization and impressions of services received. RESULTS: We interviewed 1221 women, 98% of whom sought antenatal care (ANC). 78% of women began ANC after the first trimester and 22% reported <4 visits. Reasons for choosing an ANC facility included reputation (51%), friendly/accessible staff (39%), availability of comprehensive services (29%), medication access (26%), location (26%), and cost (21%). Most women reported satisfactory treatment by staff, but 47% reported that the ANC provider ignored their complaints, 23% had difficulty understanding responses to their questions, 22% wanted more time with the provider, 21% wanted more privacy, and 12% felt uncomfortable asking questions. Only 56% reported someone talked to them about HIV/AIDS. Strongest predictors of seeking inadequate ANC included low participant and partner education and lack of certain assets. Only 32% of women sought postnatal care. Some results varied by health zone. CONCLUSIONS: Scaling-up interventions to improve reproductive health services should include broad-based health systems strengthening and promote equitable access to quality ANC, delivery, and postnatal services. Personal and structural-level barriers to seeking ANC need to be addressed, with consideration given to local contexts.

Free distribution of insecticide treated bed nets to pregnant women in Kinshasa: an effective way to achieve 80% use by women and their newborns.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether long lasting insecticide treated bed nets (LLINs) distributed free of charge to pregnant women at their first antenatal clinic visit in Kinshasa, DRC are used from the time of distribution to delivery and 6 months after delivery. METHODS: Women were enrolled into a cohort study at their first antenatal care (ANC) visit and provided LLINs free of charge. Reported use of these nets was then measured at the time of delivery (n = 328) and in a random sample of women (n = 100) 6 months post-delivery using an interviewer administered, structured questionnaire. RESULTS: At baseline, only 25% of women reported having slept under a bed net the night before the interview. At the time of delivery, after being provided an LLIN for free, this increased to 79%. Six months post-delivery (n = 100), 80% of women reported sleeping under a net with a child under the age of 5 the night before the interview. CONCLUSIONS: Freely distributed bed nets are acceptable, feasible and result in high usage. Free distribution of bed nets during antenatal clinic visits may be a highly effective way to rapidly increase the use of bed nets among both pregnant women and their newborn infants in areas with high levels of ANC attendance.

Bed net ownership, use and perceptions among women seeking antenatal care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): opportunities for improved maternal and child health.

BACKGROUND: To describe malaria knowledge, attitudes toward malaria and bed net use, levels of ownership and use of bed nets, and factors associated with ownership and use among pregnant women attending their first antenatal care (ANC) visit in Kinshasa, DRC. METHODS: Women attending their first ANC visit at one maternity in Kinshasa were recruited to take part in a study where they were given free insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs) and then followed up at delivery and 6 months post delivery to assess ITN use. This study describes the baseline levels of bed net ownership and use, attitudes towards net use and factors associated with net use RESULTS: Among 351 women interviewed at baseline, 115 (33%) already owned a bed net and 86 (25%) reported to have slept under the net the previous night. Cost was reported as the reason for not owning a net by 48% of the 236 women who did not own one. In multivariable analyses, women who had secondary school or higher education were 3.4 times more likely to own a net (95% CI 1.6-7.3) and 2.8 times more likely to have used a net (95% CI 1.3-6.0) compared to women with less education CONCLUSION: Distribution of ITNs in antenatal clinics in this setting is needed and feasible. The potential for ITN use by this target population is high.