Giant strides in curbing mother-to-child HIV infections

Sunday Mail Reporter

ZIMBABWE has made commendable strides in scaling up prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, with 90 percent of pregnant women accessing services to stop infection of babies before, during and after birth.

A new report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) indicates that maternal antiretroviral treatment (ART) coverage in Zimbabwe has surpassed 90 percent, with 91,5 percent skilled birth attendance having been recorded in 2021.

Commenting on the new report, National Aids Council (NAC) chief executive officer Dr Bernard Madzima said the country has made significant progress in reversing the course of the HIV pandemic through prevention of new HIV infections and provision of treatment to those infected.

“We welcome this report by Unicef on the state of health in Zimbabwe for 2021 and amongst the key critical issues is the coverage of anti-retroviral maternal therapy, which is beyond 90 percent. This really was the target for the Ministry of Health and Child Care,” he said.

Early detection of high-risk pregnancies and educating women, he added, contributed to the milestone.

“The ramping up of antenatal care and encouragement that it be done before 12 weeks to ensure that pregnant women who are HIV positive are started on lifelong (ART) also helped a lot.

“As the antenatal care coverage goes up and the comprehensive services like HIV testing are given, we are able to make sure that every woman who is HIV positive then gets lifelong ART.”

Dr Madzima urged pregnant women to book early for antenatal care and to access services that help them have healthier lives. “We should not relax; we need to continue with the programme so that we maintain that number and improve on it.

“It’s a welcome report for the HIV and Aids programme.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that all pregnant women should have at least four assessments: at eight to 12 weeks, 24-26 weeks, 32 weeks, and 36-38 weeks of the pregnancy.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care has also set up a national validation committee to manage and monitor the spread of HIV to unborn babies.

Zimbabwe is experiencing a significant decline in new HIV and Aids infections. Of the 1,3 million people living with HIV in Zimbabwe, 97 percent are on antiretroviral therapy.

According to the UNAIDS, Zimbabwe is one of the seven countries in East and Southern Africa that have managed to achieve the global HIV and Aids fast-track targets of reducing transmission.

The fast-track targets, popularly known as the 90-90-90 targets, saw countries committing to ensure that 90 percent of people living with HIV know their status, 90 percent who are HIV positive are on anti-retroviral treatment and 90 percent on treatment are achieving viral suppression.