Zim on course to end HIV in babies

Thandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
ZIMBABWE is on course to eliminating HIV in newly born babies as the country only has to deal with less than five percent mother to child transmission prevalence.

Speaking during a Bulawayo City Council (BCC) media tour yesterday, council’s chief nursing officer Mrs Thoko Hove said the country had come a long way in ensuring no HIV positive mother transmits the virus to an unborn child.

“Our statistics show that while other countries are struggling with prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), as a country we are very close to eliminating it. As a city we have also done well and we are proud that our efficiency is contributing to the national prevalence rate which remains very low,” she said.

Statistics from BCC show that from the 10 818 pregnant women who were attended to, 80 had already tested for HIV before presenting themselves at a health institution.

@thamamoe