The Cameroon association for the protection and education of the child, CAPEC has for two days in Kumba schooled nurses, retired nurses and members of the civil society on the need to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, PMTCT, in Kumba.

The objective of the training was to improve the range and quality of PMTCT services, increase comprehensive knowledge and behaviour, change and action, to prevent, manage and control HIV At personal and family levels.

The workshop was presided at by the Deputy Programme Director of CAPEC, Solange Nkoli. It brought together some twenty participants across Meme Division.

According to her, the particular programme targets some 5000 families in Meme, thus the trained ambassadors will carry out door to door sensitisation, HIV screening, post counseling and also convince pregnant women to go for antenatal care and encourage spouses to go for ANC.

She said early diagnosis and care helps the pregnant mother to stay healthy and also enables early identification and treatment of any sexually transmitted infection, STI’s.

The work shop was also aimed at increasing knowledge and skills so as to enable them effectively perform pre and post test counseling in PMTCT.

She also disclosed that it was possible for a woman who tested HIV positive to give birth to a baby with a negative status, and that if the situation was reversed; it would be easier to place the child on treatment so as to enable the child live longer and healthier.

It should be noted that the CAPEC PMTCT project will be carried out for three years and will be extended to orphans whose parents died of HIV/AIDS.