Cuba is First Country to Eradicate Mum-to-Baby HIV and Syphilis

When it comes to HIV, the unlikely second-most affected region of the world is the Caribbean. About 1% of the adult population suffer from the disease, and the only region with a higher rate is sub-Saharan Africa. After learning this information, it might come as a happy shock to find out that one Caribbean country, Cuba, has become the first country in the world to eradicate mother-to-baby transmission of HIV. But not only HIV, but also syphilis! The WHO (World Health Organisation) is calling it one of the greatest possible public health achievements ever. Every year, there are about 1.4 million women with HIV, who fall pregnant. If left untreated, there's between a 15% and 45% chance of the virus being passed onto their unborn or newborn child, whether it be during pregnancy or delivery, or even through breastfeeding. It's a similar story with syphilis, where nearly a million pregnant women in the world are found to have syphilis every year. But it is possible to avoid complications for the baby if there is early testing and treatment. Cuba now has the lowest HIV rates - not only in the Caribbean region but in the world. And it's all down to comprehensive measures that were first put in place decades ago by the WHO and PAHO (Pan-American Health Organisation). The country first destroyed any potentially infected human blood products and banned them from being imported. Coupled with testing for anyone who travelled abroad and could have contracted the disease while they were away, HIV was effectively prevented from being brought into the country from an outside source. Then came the education programmes, free basic health care to all of the Cuban citizens, and medical examinations. Anyone found to be HIV-positive were admitted into special health centres, like a sort of quarantine. The problem with these centres, though, was that they were a severe infringement on the patients' human rights back in the 1980s. But the care and facilities have improved a lot since those days, don't worry about that! The measures also ensured that pregnant women had access to testing and treatment as soon as possible into their pregnancy, administering antiretroviral medicines to the mothers and their children. And that scary almost-50% chance of transmitting HIV or syphilis to their babies was dramatically crushed to only 1%. This means that out of all the children in Cuba that are born from a mother with HIV, less than 2% have the disease themselves. In fact, in 2013, only two babies were born with HIV in the whole of the country. PAHO's Dr Carissa Etienne explained that Cuba's achieve will inspire "other countries towards the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis". And we couldn't agree more; we can't wait until the rest of the world has followed in these incredible footsteps!