Cuba was the first country in the world validated by WHO for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis

Background

The World Health Organization announced that Cuba became the first country in the world to receive validation from WHO that it had eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. WHO/PAHO had been working with partners in Cuba and other countries in the Americas since 2010 on a regional initiative for that purpose. An international expert mission convened by PAHO/WHO visited Cuba in March 2015 and, during a five-day visit, saw health centres, laboratories and government offices across the island; its members came from Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Japan, Nicaragua, Suriname, the United States of America and Zambia. The country had worked to ensure early access to prenatal care and testing, treatment for women who test positive and their babies, and services delivered through an equitable, accessible and universal health system. In 2013, only two babies were born with HIV in Cuba, and only 3 babies were born with congenital syphilis. WHO uses validation to attest that a country has met the internationally set targets at a specific point in time, and countries are required to maintain ongoing programmes.