WHO and Pan American Health Organization started to work with Cuba and other nations last 2010.
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While vertical transmission of HIV takes place during pregnancy or childbirth or lactation, congenital syphilis occurs during pregnancy or at birth.
Since it was discovered that HIV and syphilis could be transmitted from mother to child, science has been working to stop it. Unfortunately, there’ve been a lot of obstacles, including the ability to detect each possible exposure. The chances of transmission decrease by a little over 1% when both the baby and the mother get treated with antiretroviral drugs.
Cuba could achieve this remarkable feet with the strong integration of its Public Health’s HIV program with the maternal and child health program in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) of the WHO.
“This is a major victory in our long fight against HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and an important step towards having an AIDS-free generation.” said World Health Organization director-general Dr. Margaret Chan as they announced Cuba that Cuba as the first country to successfully eradicate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. The number of children born annually with HIV has nearly halved since 2009-down from 400,000 in 2009 to 240,000 in 2013. Around 1.4 million women living with HIV around the world become pregnant annually. 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.
However, official data suggests that less than two per cent of children born to HIV mothers will be diagnosed with the virus – the lowest possible rate given the available prevention methods. The World Health Organization estimates that eight of the 22 countries that account for 90 percent of new HIV infections have reduced infections in children by more than 50 percent since 2009.
Granted, the validation process does recognize that no treatment is 100% effective in preventing transmission. What’s more? They’ve even eliminated mother-to-child transmission of syphilis. The mission included experts from Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Japan, Nicaragua, Suriname, the United States of America and Zambia.
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More than 95% of pregnant women with syphilis receive treatment. Since Cuba has about 125,000 births a year, this could be as many as 65 infants with HIV born a year-though surely the actual count is much lower.
