Cuba becomes first country to eradicate mother-to-child HIV transmissions
The World Health Organization has confirmed that Cuba is the first country in the world to eradicate mother-to-child transmitted HIV and syphilis. WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chen called the progress a "major victory."
"It shows that ending the AIDS epidemic is possible and we expect Cuba to be the first of many countries coming forward to seek validation that they have ended their epidemics among children," Executive Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidibé added in the WHO report.
The Pan American Health Organization and WHO have worked jointly in Cuba since 2010. Globally, the organization estimates that 1.4 million women with HIV become pregnant every year and have a 15 to 45 percent chance of transmitting the virus to their children during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or breastfeeding. Likewise, nearly one million pregnant women become infected with syphilis.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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