The World Health Organisation- WHO has declared St Vincent and the Grenadines free of mother to child transmission of both Syphilis and HIV.
St Vincent and the Grenadines is one of 20 countries which have been certified and is the sixth country within the subregion of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States to achieve elimination.
In an interview with the Agency for Public Information, Minister of Health Hon. St Clair “Jimmy” Prince said this is a major achievement for primary healthcare in the country, proving that ending paediatric HIV and Mother to Child Transmission of syphilis is achievable.
In a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, the Executive Director of UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS) writes:
“This is testament to the resilience and dedication of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and other Caribbean countries in ensuring health systems with strong maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) programmes that integrate HIV and syphilis interventions into MNCH services and child health care. It is also recognition of strong and sustained national leadership and commitment to health and EMTCT”.
The announcement came on Tuesday April 30th.