What is Vertical Transmission for HIV Prevention? Vertical transmission of HIV (also known as mother to child transmission and abbreviated as ‘MTCT’) has been virtually eliminated in the global North. This is because treatment to prevent HIV infection in newborns has been available for over a decade. The treatment involves is providing a simple, affordable bio-medical intervention, providing ARV drugs to mother and child at birth, to a highly visible and easy to reach target population. Research into improved design of vertical transmission services at birth and during breastfeeding remain an important goal in reducing infant HIV infection.
Vertical Transmission Prevention Investment. In its first year of monitoring funding for operations research related to prevention of vertical transmission, the Working Group identified US$21.2 million in funding in 2008. The public-sector accounted for over 88% of this funding, with the philanthropic sector providing the remainder. In 2008, there were nine active clinical trials, funded by the Doris Duke Foundation, NIH, CDC and EDCTP. These studies focused on prevention of vertical transmission at birth or through breastfeeding and on ARV resistance in HIV-positive women taking ARV regimens designed to prevent vertical transmission. The Doris Duke Operations Research on AIDS Care and Treatment in Africa (ORACTA) program funds research related to vertical transmission and other work to improve outcomes of the rollout and scale-up of ART in Africa. Since 2005, 30 teams of researchers working in Africa received ORACTA grants totaling US$6 million. In 2008, an EDCTP-funded trial began, to measure the efficacy of pre-exposure prophylaxis with lamivudine (3TC) to prevent HIV-1 transmission through breast milk.
