The challenge
Each year, millions of pregnant women are affected by HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, and Chagas disease—preventable, treatable infections that can be passed to babies during pregnancy or birth. Without timely screening and care, these diseases cause more than one million cases of avoidable illness, disability, or death among newborns each year, including stillbirths and chronic illness.
Despite the availability of simple, low-cost diagnostic tests and effective treatments, access to these tools remains limited. Fragmented health systems, siloed funding streams, market barriers, and inequities in care delivery mean that many women and babies are not reached in time. Adolescents, women living with HIV, and those with limited access to health services face the greatest barriers.
The project
Unitaid’s investment will support the rollout of SAFEStart+, a community- and country-led initiative to eliminate vertical (mother-to-child) transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, and Chagas disease. The project is led by PATH in partnership with the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) and the International Community of Women Living with HIV Eastern Africa (ICWEA).
By integrating screening and treatment for these infections into antenatal care services, SAFEStart+ aims to improve maternal and newborn health, reduce duplication, and make care more efficient, accessible and equitable.
The SAFEStart+ project will:
- Expand integrated testing and care by introducing multi-disease diagnostic tools and improving access to preventive treatments during antenatal care.
- Support community-led models to ensure services meet the real needs of affected people and are accessible, rights-based, and stigma-free.
- Strengthen health systems by aligning policy and implementation, improving service delivery platforms, and building sustainable financing pathways.
- Generate evidence and support scale-up through a learning agenda and implementation research in collaboration PAHO, WHO, and country partners.
- Foster equity and inclusion by targeting the populations most at risk, including adolescents and women with limited access to care.
Unitaid is also integrating targeted mpox interventions into this work those most at risk, including those with advanced HIV disease. Mpox testing, linkage to care, community engagement and infection-prevention measures are being added to existing HIV grants in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone, with exploration of rapid or near-POC diagnostics to support decentralized response. Working through partnerships such as the WHO-led interim Medical Countermeasures Network, Unitaid is helping expand equitable access to limited mpox tools and strengthen preparedness so countries can implement effective test-and-treat strategies in future outbreaks.
