Organization Promoting Exclusive Breastfeeding in Kenya to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

As part of a series written by members of the Frontline Health Workers Coalition in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Eric Kilongi, a senior communications officer in Kenya for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), describes efforts to educate women living with HIV about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding. "[S]tudies have shown that women living with HIV are less likely to pass the virus if they breastfeed their babies exclusively for at least four months," he notes. Kilongi discusses "a community-driven infant and young child feeding program associated with the Maisha project -- supported by [EGPAF]" -- and "a support group to promote exclusive breastfeeding as a way to reduce mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) and improve overall child health and nutrition" (8/1).

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