BVI not yet able to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Syphilis?

Belize, Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are the newest countries in the Caribbean to receive certification from the World Health Organization (WHO). eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis (EMTCT).

WHO commended Belize for integrating primary disease prevention and maternal and child health care treatment. Jamaica received praise for its civil society organization

The countries’ commitment to human rights and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were commended for their investments in robust national laboratory structures.

The BVI has not yet received certification and the territory’s progress in this area is not clear. However, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Bermuda all gained recognition a few years ago.

Other Caribbean countries on the list include Cuba – which made history by becoming the first country in the world to achieve the dual eradication of HIV and syphilis – Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Dominica.

To meet elimination targets, countries focused on strengthening prevention and treatment services within primary health care and in the area of ​​maternal and child health: updating guidelines, ensuring effective screening of pregnant women, monitoring cases and following up on infants exposed to HIV and syphilis.

There are now 19 countries and territories worldwide certified to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and/or syphilis, 11 of which are in America.

The number of new HIV infections among children in the Caribbean decreased by 25% between 2010 and 2022. During that period, the annual number of reported cases fell from 2,000 to 1,500.

The rate of reported cases of congenital syphilis in the English-speaking Caribbean now stands at 36 cases per 100,000 newborns, below the target of no more than 50 cases per 100,000 newborns.