Cuba on Tuesday became the first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, the World Health Organization said.
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The WHO’s director general, Margaret Chan, said it was “one of the greatest public health achievements possible” and an important step towards an Aids-free generation. Untreated, they have a 15 to 45 percent chance of transmitting the virus to their children during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding, according to the WHO.
The effects were particularly strong among women, with each additional year of secondary schooling reducing infection risk by 12 percentage points. Since 2009, the number of children born annually with HIV has nearly halved, down from 400,000 in 2009 to 240,000 in 2013, according to a release from the United Nations.
Globally, 67 percent of all pregnant women infected with HIV in low- and middle-income countries were able to get the drugs to protect their babies in 2013, WHO said.
PAHO director Carissa Etienne said: ‘Cuba’s success demonstrates that universal access and universal health coverage are feasible and indeed are the key to success, even against challenges as daunting as HIV.’. Etienne said Cuba’s elimination of MTCT of HIV and syphilis “provides inspiration for other countries”.
WHO and its partners first published comprehensive guidelines on the processes and criteria for validation of eliminating mother-to-child transmissions in 2014. Cuba did so not through some experimental treatment but through rigorous prenatal screening of pregnant women.
The findings also show that increasing secondary schooling has the potential to be a very cost-effective as an HIV prevention intervention in endemic countries. This global movement has galvanized political leadership, innovation and engagement of communities to ensure that children remain free from HIV and that their mothers stay alive and well.
Longer the secondary schooling significantly lowers the risk of HIV infection, especially for girls, claims a new study.
In March of 2015, a group of global experts visited Cuba to assess its progress towards the elimination target, and spent five days visiting health clinics, labs and government institutions interviewing a range of experts and other stakeholders.
More than 95% of pregnant women with syphilis receive treatment.
For HIV, that means fewer than two in 100 babies born to women with HIV; for syphilis, less than one case for every 2,000 live births.
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WHO launched an effort in 2007 to eliminate congenital syphilis and in 2011 launched a plan to eliminate new HIV infections in children, leading to declines in both.
