Preventing Future Infections Project
Preventing Future Infections: Empowering Communities to Break the Transmission of Hepatitis B from Mother-to-Child Project
By 2040 hepatitis will cause more deaths than HIV, TB and malaria combined. Hepatitis B accounts for a significant proportion of these deaths and is most commonly transmitted from mother to child at birth, with 90% of infants exposed at birth going on to develop chronic hepatitis B.
Senegal has a high prevalence of hepatitis B with approximately 17% of the population living with the disease. Given the high prevalence, effective PMTCT services can be revolutionary in addressing hepatitis within the country. Senegal has introduced the birth dose; however, coverage is variable with those from rural or disadvantaged communities often left behind.
To help address this, WHA is partnered with our member in Senegal, SAAFARA Hépatites Sénégal to develop and implement an advocacy strategy that addresses the barriers to hepatitis B PMTCT services. Inspired by our white paper ‘Mothers and Babies Can’t Wait’, the project drew on the recommendations in the white paper to help set objectives that will drive the greatest action.
SAAFARA Hépatites Sénégal’s objectives for the project were to:
- Increase access to interventions that prevent mother-to-child transmission
- Improve awareness of hepatitis B and prevention of mother-to-child transmission within communities
- Improve knowledge about hepatitis B among key opinion leaders and decision makers
- Strengthen the capacity of community groups to advocate for prevention of mother-to-child transmission hepatitis services
SAAFARA successfully achieved their project objectives. The project laid a strong foundation for preventing mother to child transmission in Senegal. Community empowerment, stakeholder engagement and healthcare worker training contributed to the success of the project.
Feedback from SAAFARA: ‘The interactions and resources from WHA have helped improve our skills and knowledge of viral hepatitis. Participating in the project has increased our confidence in communicating with policymakers through advocacy visits and training’
Watch SAAFARA’s impactful project video.
PMTCT TOOLKIT
This toolkit aims to bridge this gap by providing practical and actionable suggestions on how community-based organisations can make the recommendations in the white paper relevant and advocate for them to be implemented, accelerating progress towards eliminating mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B.
SAAFARA Hépatites Sénégal was established in 2011 with the vision of ‘Fighting Hepatitis Together’. Their mission is to raise awareness, inform and guide patients, and lobby for affordable treatment.
You can learn more about the work that they do here.
This Project was funded by Kedrion SPA – unrestricted grant
See more of our advocacy work to include hepatitis within PMTCT programmes and delivery of triple elimination: