The WHO announced in a press release that it validated Cuba’s success in eliminating mother-to-child transmission.
“Eliminating transmission of a virus is one of the greatest public health achievements possible,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said.
“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,” she added.
Cuba celebrated getting the recognition from the international agency.
“It is a historic day for the prevention of HIV and AIDS and for progress towards a generation free of this burden both nationwide and around the world,” Xinhua cited Cuba’s state daily Granma as saying.
“This is a celebration for Cuba and a celebration 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,” said Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS.
Every year, an estimated 1.4 million women around the globe living with HIV become pregnant. Untreated, they have a 15-45 percent chance of transmitting the virus to their children during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding, according to the WHO.
The good news is that the risk drops to just over 1 percent 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 much more needs to be done “to reach the global target of less than 40,000 new child infections per year by 2015”, the WHO said.
Nearly 1 million pregnant women worldwide are infected with syphilis annually, which can result in early fetal loss and stillbirth, neonatal death, low-birth-weight infants and serious neonatal infections.
Thanks to Cuba’s “equitable, accessible and universal health system”, infected pregnant women are ensured key early access to prenatal care, and HIV and syphilis testing for them and their partners, the WHO said.
Cuba succeeded in lowering the HIV transmission rate to 1.85 percent, below the 2 percent target rate countries in the region in conjunction with the WHO and other health agencies had been aiming for.
“Cuba’s achievement today provides inspiration for other countries to advance towards elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis,” said Carissa F. Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organisation.
Cuba, The First Country To Eradicate Mother To Child HIV Transmission added by on
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Good for Cuba. However our health sector in Zambia brings tears to my eyes. I was in Zambia last week to drum support during by election. I was surprised to see the state of uth. The pf government priority is to build sub standard roads and increase budget deficit meanwhile people can’t afford medicare. Meanwhile lungu is flying to sa for a checkup. Foolish president we have
Mmmmmm hav respect for the president iwe kembo
Mmmmmm hav respect for the president iwe kembo zoona
Tears were dripping cos you UPND will lose and not medicare issues
foolish you in diaspora
at the moment yes. But I travel widely. I am based in many places. As a freelance consultant one needs to be mobile. However, my permanent resident is in zambia. Foolish ignorant chap
Very good answer. As a matter of fact you forgot to mention that you are comfortable with what you do. Not izi mbuzi which think that one day tukaba bwino. Tukaba bwino my foot!
Are you not ashamed for having made such a useless trip to come and beef up support to an ever losing ka party called upnd? …really u’re a bunch of shameless cows!
let us be shameless. What we do or I do surely has no impact on you or your empty bank account young man. If we are losers why is it bothering you? Why not just leave us to lose? Your constant worries shows that you are scared. Please go back and look at the gaines we have made. Mulobezi was marred with violence hence the slim lose. To us we have not lost it and come 2016 you will be shocked.
This is stuff we should be talking about as a country not by-elections, kaloba, loadshedding, bonking, cursing championships, teti mukubweko no nesoni,ifimitwe, bravo kuba.
@NEZ you are a fool,everything ni politics iwe chikala cha noko grow up or ar u paid to do this shit?
look how foolish these idiots sink in the PF. Are you failing to articulate your points in a humane way? Very dull fool.
Imwe ba zambia, ninshi kanshi?, why insults all de tym, cant yu speak without insulting?.Major mwaiche, i salute u today coz yu hav given a comment without mentioning a certain word.Big up one major