Working Paper: NBER ID: w18226
Authors: Nicholas Wilson
Abstract: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) is the single most effective HIV prevention intervention in practice today. Nonetheless, little reliable empirical evidence exists on the behavioral effects of PMTCT. This paper documents the rapid expansion of access to PMTCT in Zambia during the period 2000-2007 and provides some of the first evidence on the change in reproductive behavior associated with PMTCT scale-up. The results of a primarily descriptive analysis suggest that PMTCT may have generated increases in knowledge about PMTCT and MTCT, large reductions in child mortality and pregnancy rates, and smaller changes in breastfeeding rates. However, additional research is required to address the potential endogeneity of PMTCT availability.
Keywords: HIV; PMTCT; reproductive behavior; Zambia
JEL Codes: I10; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| PMTCT availability (H43) | knowledge about mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) (J13) |
| PMTCT availability (H43) | child mortality rates (J13) |
| PMTCT availability (H43) | pregnancy rates (J13) |
| PMTCT availability (H43) | breastfeeding rates (J13) |