WHO presented the Thai minister of health with a certificate of validation during a ceremony held in New York, on the eve of the United Nations General-Assembly High-Level Meeting on ending AIDS.
Thailand has become the first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and syphilis. The World Health Organisation (WHO) hailed the country's achievement on Wednesday.
WHO presented the Thai minister of health with a certificate of validation during a ceremony held in New York, on the eve of the United Nations General-Assembly High-Level Meeting on ending AIDS.
"This is a remarkable achievement for a country where thousands of people live with HIV. Thailand's unwavering commitment to core public health principles has made elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis a reality. This is a critical step for rolling back the HIV epidemic. Thailand has demonstrated to the world that HIV can be defeated," said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director of WHO South-East Asia Region, while presenting the certificate of validation to Thailand.
Closer to home, Dr Shobhana Tehra-Rajput, joint director of Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society (MSACS), said, "In October 2014, we started a new regime called the multi-drug regime, to bring down the mother-to-child transmission rate. Once an HIV+ mother gets registered with us, we put her on antiretroviral drugs, irrespective of her CD4 count. Earlier, the mother-to-child HIV transmission rate was 6%. After starting the new regime, the rate has fallen down below 5%. We are positive to eliminate it completely soon."
A CD4 count is a test of blood sample. It is an important indicator of how well an immune system is working and the strongest predictor of HIV progression.
"Thailand has turned around its epidemic and transformed the lives of thousands of women and children affected by HIV. Thailand's progress shows how much can be achieved when science and medicine are underpinned by sustained political commitment," said UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibé.
According to experts, HIV+ mothers have a 15% chance of transmitting the virus to children during pregnancy and breastfeeding. But if they get proper medical attention, this risk can be reduced to 1%.
As per a Thailand Ministry of Public Health report, 98% of all pregnant women living with HIV have access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). According to the ministry, in 2000, an estimated 1,000 children became infected with HIV. In 2015, that number was reduced to 85, which is a decline of more than 90%. In 2014, the country had an estimated 450,000 people living with HIV.
Senior gynaecologist Dr Rajasrhi Katke, superintendent at the Cama Hospital, said, "We also can eliminate the mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. In our country, doctors are doing a lot of good work in this area.
In the last nine years, around 400 HIV+ mothers delivered their child at our hospital but only 7-10% children were found to be HIV+. We need a good follow-up programme and also need to provide a proper combination of drugs, which can really help reduce the number of such cases."
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