Can Social Innovation advance the PMTCT programme? A South African reflection

Abstract

The prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) programme is an initiative developed to enable health care practitioners to provide essential care to mothers in order to prevent the transmission of HIV to their infants. However, the PMTCT programme has not been reaching its intended prevention objectives. This paper identifies the social issues that elucidate the gap between PMTCT program goals and the role that Social Innovation could play in improving the status quo. Supporting Social Innovation in health helps reduce infectious diseases by empowering communities to become active participants in their health challenges through local adaptation of global strategies that facilitate the reduction of health system limitations. The article combines a review of the literature with empirical evidence extracted from research that has analyzed the postpartum experiences of mothers living with HIV in the context of the PMTCT program in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa in 2021. To address the research question, exploratory research has been adopted through a case study. The research is qualitative, exploratory and descriptive based on a case study constructed with secondary data. The results show that Social Innovation contributes to addressing healthcare challenges by providing more personal, analytical and preventive healthcare pathways. In addition, Social Innovation makes a critical contribution to addressing demographic challenges by helping those who are unable to access healthcare. This paper argues that Social Innovation in health is most effective when it occurs from the bottom up, as it is a process that engages the community and connects social change and health improvement through the diverse efforts of local actors. The article demonstrates that having local beneficiaries drive the development of a Social Innovation programme in health results in more viable and sustainable solutions. It also demonstrates that Social Innovation harnesses the ingenuity and willingness of community members, strengthening conventional health service systems and helping to achieve improved and sustainable health services.