Maldives certified for elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission

Maldives has been awarded certification for elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis by World Health Organization (WHO).

The certificate was awarded to Maldives by WHO’s Regional Director for South East Asia, Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh in a ceremony held Hotel Jen this Monday.

The certificate was accepted on behalf of the Maldivian administration by Vice President Faisal Naseem.

Maldives is the second South East Asian country and the world’s 12th country to achieve the feat.

This also marks the fourth certification to be awarded to Maldives by WHO for elimination of a communicable disease.

The country has been previously certified for successful elimination of malaria, filariasis, and small pox. And Maldives and the entire South East Asian region has been certified for elimination of polio and tetanus in children.

 “This commendable achievement has been made possible by strong political commitment, active community engagement, invaluable contributions of health workers and sustained collaboration of partner organizations,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, at this Monday’s ceremony.

Health Ministry reports Maldives initiated work to obtain certification for elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis in 2014, with the establishment of the National Validation Committee to undertake the campaign in accordance with WHO’s standards.

Data was collected from across Maldives in early 2018 to evaluate whether the status meets WHO’s standards. The data collected includes prenatal health care and prenatal HIV and syphilis screening statistics.

Maldives submitted its report based on this evaluation to WHO in 2018.

WHO certification of Maldives’ follows confirmations and validations by national, regional and global teams that no woman or infant was detected with HIV or syphilis in the country in the last two years.

The following were taken into consideration in WHO’s decision to certify Maldives for elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis:

• Existence of a validation standard surveillance mechanism
• Existence of a mechanism to obtain necessary statistics
• Public access to prenatal screenings for HIV and syphilis
• Percentage of expectant mothers who receive prenatal health care being above WHO’s global standard
• No woman or infant being detected with HIV or syphilis for two years (2016 and 2017)
• Access to quality authenticated laboratory services for HIV and syphilis screening
• Existence of national standards and policies for prenatal health care, HIV and syphilis screening, and HIV and syphilis treatment
• Access to treatment for HIV and syphilis
• Access to screening and treatment for HIV and syphilis to high-risk groups
• Protection of the rights and privacy of all who receive the service

WHO has attributed Maldives’ success to its proactive, persistent and long-term public health measures initiated even before the first case of HIV infection was detected in the country in 1991.

“Today’s milestone is yet another demonstration of the country’s determination to ensure health and wellbeing for everyone, everywhere. With a consistently high budget for health, over 9% of GDP, and persistent efforts over the years to ensure quality care, Maldives has overcome unique and huge challenges to be in the forefront to eliminate diseases such as malaria, lymphatic filariasis, measles, and now mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Syphilis,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh.

WHO has stressed the need for Maldives to further expand health services to all migrant population, given that many of them coming from countries with endemic transmission of these diseases, and maintain and expand coverage of quality health services.