Gateways to integration: a case study from Swaziland: linking sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS.

Global attention has for some time focused on prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV as an essential means of making progress towards reducing child mortality (UN Millennium Development Goal 4). Recently there has been a shift to recognising that improving maternal health (MDG 5) and preventing and treating HIV (MDG 6) are interlinked and also impact on child survival (MDG 4). Building on the past progress and success of country-led national PMTCT programmes there is renewed global consensus that the world must now strive towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping mothers alive. These joint goals can be achieved at a country level through implementation of the four prongs for comprehensive programming of elimination of mother-to-child transmission (eMTCT) integrated with sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Increasingly the first two prongs -preventing new HIV infections (Prong 1) and preventing unintended pregnancies in women living with HIV (Prong 2) -are receiving the recognition commitment and programming support required to have an impact. These two prongs form the basis of this case study which should be used in conjunction with Preventing HIV and Unintended Pregnancies: Strategic Framework 2011-2015: In support of the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive.