CARICOM and PAHO Lead Charge to End Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV, Syphilis and Hepatitis B 

The Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission (EMTCT) of HIV and Hepatitis B was the focus of an engagement between the CARICOM Secretariat and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Regional Validation Committee (RVC) on Thursday, 11 June, at the Secretariat’s headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana.

The CARICOM Secretariat delegation was led by Beverly Harry-Emmanuel, Advisor, Social Development and Officer -in-Charge, Human and Social Development Directorate, and comprising Dr Wendy Telgt Emanuelson, Director, PANCAP Coordinating Unit; Tamara Bobb, Programme Manager, Health Sector Development; and Dr Shanti Singh-Anthony, Knowledge Coordinator, PANCAP Coordinating Unit.

The PAHO/WHO project team included Sandra Jones, Advisor, HIV/STI, TB and Viral Hepatitis; Dr Leandro Sereno Soares, Advisor, Viral Hepatitis Prevention and Control; Jodie Dionne, Chair, Regional Validation Committee; and Dr Shabbir Argaw, Member, Regional Validation Committee.

Discussions centred on supporting CARICOM Member States in scaling up EMTCT primary prevention and treatment services, strengthening detection and monitoring of HIV-positive pregnant women and exposed infants, and enhancing laboratory and surveillance systems. The meeting underscored the fact that these collective efforts are helping countries attain validation status and sustain gains for those already validated by the World Health Organization (WHO).

There was consensus that the validation process not only advances EMTCT goals but also improves the overall efficiency and quality of health service delivery across national systems.

To date, the following Caribbean countries and territories have achieved validation for the EMTCT of HIV and Syphilis: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Bahamas has been validated for HIV only, while the Turks and Caicos Islands made history as the first state in the Americas to achieve dual validation for both HIV and Hepatitis B, a milestone that highlights the Region’s leadership in public health.

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