ACCESS TO PREVENTION OF MOTHER-TO-CHILD TRANSMISSION PROGRAM: OBSTACLES AND IMPLICATIONS

It was in 2000 that Nguyen, the author of the book, first met Pham Thi Hue, an HIV-infected mother who later became an Asian heroine. A long talk with Hue had made Nguyen a deep impression on the lives of HIV-infected women. After that, she found more chances to work with HIV-positive people. She also found out that women have become more vulnerable to HIV infection, far from what she has seen from the statistics in Vietnam that drugs are the main source of HIV transmission and men are the major victims. As a mother, she was deeply moved by the fate of many HIV-infected women and more than that, the short life of many children to whom HIV was transmitted by their mothers. All her efforts led her to this book, which presents the situation of HIV transmission from mothers to children in Vietnam, including the effect of health care system, culture with traditional norms and values, and personal difficulties of HIV-infected women. Medical intervention alone is insufficient to assist women in the comprehensive way accessing PMTCT services, given their complex needs in a society in which HIV is highly stigmatized and considered a "social evil".