World AIDS Day 2020

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Every year, on 1 December the world celebrates World AIDS Day. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a disease caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which will attack the human immune system so that it will reduce its optimal function in providing protection for the body from various diseases. Through this commemoration, the public is invited to raise awareness of the HIV / AIDS epidemic and its transmission.

AIDS can affect anyone regardless of age, sex, and social status, including risk groups such as pregnant women. There are many cases where a mother does not know that she has HIV. This is because there are no symptoms of HIV / AIDS and the mother does not immediately get tested. Even though there are no symptoms, this virus can still survive in the body until finally a housewife is found to be pregnant. Quoting from the UNICEF website, pregnant women have a 23-25% risk of transmitting the HIV virus to their unborn child. This risk can increase if the pregnant woman does not immediately get treatment in the form of antiretroviral drug therapy (ARV). Through ARV therapy, the risk of transmission can be reduced and prevented.

It should be noted that HIV / AIDS is not only transmitted through sexual contact but can also be transmitted through the use of non-sterile needles before pregnancy. In addition, the birthing process can also carry the risk of transmitting this virus directly from mother to baby. Until now, there has not been found a treatment therapy that can cure HIV / AIDS completely, so the handling of this disease needs to be done early to minimize its impact. Even if this condition is not immediately known, various health problems and dangers can lurk pregnant women and their babies and even cause death. Therefore, the health of the mother from the beginning of pregnancy to postpartum must be continuously monitored by health personnel.

To facilitate monitoring of the health of pregnant women, the Summit Institute of Development (SID) contributes to assisting health workers, especially midwives, in this monitoring process. Through the implementation of an application platform called OpenSRP. This application can record the mother’s health history during pregnancy, as well as reminders of pregnancy visits so that the condition of pregnant women can be monitored properly. By using technology assistance, health problems that can lead to complications and even death can be effectively prevented. Hopefully, with this OpenSRP application, SID can help the Indonesian government in monitoring the health of pregnant women effectively and reducing the morbidity and mortality rates of mothers and children significantly.