Background
In order to streamline the care of HIV-positive pregnant women, the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi created a “One-Stop HIV Clinic”. At this clinic, the patient is managed by a multidisciplinary team including a specialist physician, obstetrician, pharmacist, dietician, counselor, midwife and a paediatrician. There is also a support group that meets once a month. Although this clinic has helped these women access a variety of health care services, many of them also expressed a need for family planning services.

About the project
This project was created to integrate family planning services with the One-Stop HIV Clinic. The project team arranged a consultation room, employed new staff members with expertise in family planning counseling and purchased all necessary equipment and contraceptive methods needed to provide family planning services to all their clients. The women visiting the clinic received counseling to ensure they made informed choices about which contraceptive method to use. In connection to this appointment, the health workers also screened the women for cervical cancer.

Results
By the end of the project, 21 clients received family planning counseling at the One-Stop HIV Clinic. All clients chose condoms as their primary method of family planning and four opted for an additional method, for dual protection. The clinic will continue to offer family planning services going forward and the project team plan to work with the local community to increase the awareness about the services available. In the future, they also hope to link this project to a comprehensive fertility service in order to address the fertility desires of HIV-positive clients.

Year: 2008/2009