If both mother and child receive proper antiretroviral treatment, the risk of transmission falls to just one per cent.
HAVANA, Cuba, Wednesday July 1, 2015 – Cuba yesterday became the first country in the world to receive validation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that it has eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.
“Eliminating transmission of a virus is one of the greatest public health achievements possible,” said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General said on the heels of the announcement.
“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.”
Executive Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidibé said the achievement was a celebration for Cuba and for children and families everywhere.
“It shows that ending the AIDS epidemic is possible and we expect Cuba to be the first of many countries coming forward to seek validation that they have ended their epidemics among children,” he said
@Lzloures: Cuba’s success in eliminating mother to child HIV transmission marks the beginning of the end of the AIDS epidemic.
— UNAIDS Caribbean (@UNAIDSCaribbean) June 30, 2015
The World Health Organisation/Pan-American Health Organisation (WHO/PAHO) has been working with partners in Cuba and other countries in the Americas since 2010 to implement a regional initiative to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.
As part of the initiative, the country has worked to ensure early access to prenatal care, HIV and syphilis testing for both pregnant women and their partners, treatment for women who test positive and their babies, caesarean deliveries and substitution of breastfeeding.
These services are provided as part of an equitable, accessible and universal health system in which maternal and child health programs are integrated with programs for HIV and sexually transmitted infections.
#Cuba MoH attributes success in eliminating vertical HIV transmission to political will, zero discrimination and community participation.
— UNAIDS Caribbean (@UNAIDSCaribbean) June 30, 2015
“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,” said PAHO Director, Dr Carissa F. Etienne. “Cuba’s achievement today provides inspiration for other countries to advance towards elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis”.
Every year, globally, an estimated 1.4 million women living with HIV become pregnant. Untreated, they have a 15-45 per cent chance of transmitting the virus to their children during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding. However, that risk drops to just over one per cent if antiretroviral medicines are given to both mothers and children throughout the stages when infection can occur.
The number of children born annually with HIV has almost halved since 2009 – down from 400,000 in 2009 to 240,000 in 2013. But intensified, efforts will be required to reach the global target of less than 40,000 new child infections per year by 2015.
Nearly one million pregnant women worldwide are infected with syphilis annually. This can result in early fetal loss and stillbirth, neonatal death, low-birth-weight infants and serious neonatal infections.
However, simple, cost-effective screening and treatment options during pregnancy, such as penicillin, can eliminate most of these complications.
There have been major efforts in recent years to ensure that women get the treatment they need to keep themselves well and their children free from HIV and syphilis and a number of countries are now poised to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of both diseases.
Between 2009 and 2013, the proportion of pregnant women living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries receiving effective antiretroviral medicines to prevent transmission of the virus to their children doubled. This means that globally, 7 out of 10 pregnant women living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries receive effective antiretroviral medicines to prevent transmission of the virus to their children.
Among the 22 countries which account for 90 per cent of new HIV infections, 8 have already reduced new HIV infections among children by over 50 per cent since 2009, based on 2013 data, and another four are close to this mark.