Photo & Video Stories: Women & Children, Majority World Issues, Development

By Christine Nesbitt Hills

  • May 2009: Tasila Lungu cuddles her infant son, Felix, at their home on the outskirts of Lusaka. Felix is six weeks old and has just returned from the Chelstone Clinic where he tested HIV negative.

Tasila and Felix

In Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, the Chelstone Clinic provides vital programmes to treat HIV-positive pregnant women and to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT).  This essay tells the story of Tasila Lungu and her son, Felix, through the first 18 months of his life until his HIV status is confirmed.

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  • [RELEASE OBTAINED] A midwife cuts the umbilical cord of Christopher, who has just been born at the Chelstone Clinic. His mother, Maureen Sakala, lives with her mother, siblings and twelve orphaned children, including the children of her brother who died of AIDS. Ms. Sakala, who is unemployed and unmarried, learned that she was HIV-positive during an antenatal check-up. She participates in the PMTCT programme at the clinic. At six weeks old, Christopher will be tested for HIV. [#3 IN SEQUENCE OF TWELVE] In April 2009 in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, the Chelstone Clinic provides vital programmes to treat HIV-positive pregnant women and prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). PMTCT programmes include HIV testing during pregnancy, antiretroviral (ARV) regimens for sick HIV-positive pregnant women, prophylactic antibiotics and ARVs for infants exposed to HIV in utero, and early infant diagnosis and treatment. HIV-positive infants diagnosed and treated within the first 12 weeks of life are 75 per cent less likely to die from the virus. However, many infants do not receive PMTCT services because their caretakers lack access to properly equipped facilities or fear the stigma associated with HIV. Zambia has recently made great strides in expanding PMTCT programmes. In 2007, HIV tests were administered to 65 per cent of pregnant women in the country, and nearly half of HIV-positive pregnant women received ARVs. But, for PMTCT measures to be effective, infants must adhere to a long-term, structured course of tests and services, which is difficult for many caretakers.

Paediatric HIV/AIDS in Zambia

Towards an AIDS-FREE Generation

This is a long-term project, in partnership with UNICEF, documenting the lives of several women as they participate in a programme preventing their unborn babies from becoming infected with HIV in rural and urban Zambia.

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  • WASHessay1-06

Managing water & sanitation facilities together

South-East Nigeria

Collaborative links between communities & authorities in managing water & sanitation facilities in Nigeria.

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  • Washing hangs on a fence serving as a line in Bodiam in the Eastern Cape of South Africa on Thursday March 22, 2012.

Maternal & child health care

Eastern Cape, South Africa

In South Africa, maternal mortality has more than quadrupled over the past decade. Women in rural areas bear the brunt of these statistics due to lack of transport, and inaccessible facilities.

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  • 10POSD

Representing children

Liberia

Children’’s rights are human rights, but children are not always recognised as citizens with such rights. It’s important to think about the representation of children in photography. Do the photographs used uphold children’s rights to accurate representation, respect, privacy and protection? What if the child depicted were your child? How would you feel about the visual representation if you were the child depicted?

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