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Prevention of mother‐to‐child transmission of syphilis and HIV in China: What drives political prioritization and what can this tell us about promoting dual elimination?
Author(s) -
Wu Dadong,
Hawkes Sarah,
Buse Kent
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2015.04.005
Subject(s) - medicine , syphilis , neglect , politics , framing (construction) , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , accountability , china , documentation , environmental health , economic growth , public relations , family medicine , nursing , political science , law , structural engineering , computer science , economics , programming language , engineering
Objective The present study aims to identify reasons behind the lower political priority of mother‐to‐child transmission (MTCT) of syphilis compared with HIV, despite the former presenting a much larger and growing burden than the latter, in China, over the 20 years prior to 2010. Methods We undertook a comparative policy analysis, based on informant interviews and documentation review of control of MTCT of syphilis and HIV, as well as nonparticipant observation of relevant meetings/trainings to investigate agenda‐setting prior to 2010. Results We identified several factors contributing to the lower priority accorded to MTCT of syphilis: relative neglect at a global level, dearth of international financial and technical support, poorly unified national policy community with weak accountability mechanisms, insufficient understanding of the epidemic and policy options, and a prevailing negative framing of syphilis that resulted in significant stigmatization. Conclusion A dual elimination goal will only be reached when prioritization of MTCT of syphilis is enhanced in both the international and national agendas.