Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Considerations for Accelerated PMTCT Programming

Summary:
Many life-threatening opportunistic infections are caused by exposure to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. Diarrhea, a very common symptom that can occur in people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV), affects 90 percent of PLHIV and results in significant morbidity and mortality, especially in HIV-positive children. Studies have shown that children 7-14 months of age show an increase in diarrhea after being exclusively breastfed and this is linked to the introduction of complementary feeding. While previously it was thought that unsafe water was the primary cause, recent evidence is also pointing to unsafe food.