Sri Lanka has been declared as a country which has eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Syphilis by the World Health Organization.
The Coordinator of the Elimination of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis (EMTCT) validation process said Sri Lanka is the third country in the Asia-Pacific region that was certified to have eliminated mother-to-child transmission.
The spokesman for the health minister, Mr. Wiraj Abesinghe said that according to the data reported by the National STD AIDS Control Programme, by the end of 2018, 85 children were infected with HIV due to mother to child transmission.
“Annually, a very few children are being newly diagnosed with Congenital Syphilis,” he added.
In July 2019, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health made a formal request to WHO to confirm the EMTCT of HIV and Syphilis status in the country. After a thorough assessment by the regional validation team and the global validation committee at WHO headquarters, they formally declared that Sri Lanka has eliminated mother to child transmission of HIV and Syphilis.
This achievement will have an inspiring impact on the milestone to end AIDS by 2025, five years ahead the global target in 2030, a commitment undertaken by the country.
Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) is the main mode of HIV transmission in children under the age of 15 years. HIV can be transmitted from a HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or breastfeeding. The dual elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV and syphilis has been identified as a global public health priority.
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