Impact of male partner involvement on mother-to-child transmission of HIV and HIV free survival among HIV-exposed infants in rural South Africa: results from a two phase randomised controlled trial

The Sub-Saharan Africa region still remains the epicentre of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. With regards to new paediatric HIV infections, almost 90% of new HIV infections are among children (aged 0-14 years), largely through mother to child transmission. Male Partner Involvement in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission programmes is now strongly advocated as being key in improving infant outcomes. This study describes the role of male partner involvement on infant HIV infection and mortality survival in the first year among HIV-exposed infants born from HIV positive mothers.