Attachments
1. Executive summary
Since 2010, PAHO Member States have committed to the dual elimination of motherto-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV and syphilis in the Region [1]. This commitment was renewed and expanded in 2016, when Member States approved the “Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (2016-2021)” with the aim of contributing to the end of AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as a public health problem in the Americas [2]. This document reports on the progress made toward elimination between 2010 and 2015.
• In 2015, 42 countries and territories reported having national plans for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. This represents progress in the sustainability of the elimination efforts beyond the end of the 2010 resolution [1]. In addition, in 2015, 44 countries and territories had information systems to monitor perinatal HIV, and 39 countries and territories had systems to monitor congenital syphilis.
• Antenatal care coverage and the percentage of women delivering in hospital settings are very high in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In 2015, 88% of women attended four or more antenatal care sessions, while approximately 1.5 million women had fewer than four prenatal visits.
• In 2015, 72% of pregnant women in LAC had an HIV test, an increase of 10 percentage points over five years. Screening for syphilis in pregnant women who had prenatal care visits reached 83%, an increase of six percentage points since 2011.
• There has been an increase of 71% in coverage of antiretroviral treatment among pregnant women since 2010 (from 52% to 88% in 2015) in LAC, with a reduction in the motherto-child transmission rate to 8% in 2015.
Consequently, new HIV infections among children 0-14 years old have decreased to an estimated 2,100. On the other hand, syphilis treatment coverage has remained stable since 2011 at approximately 84%.
• There were an estimated 22,800 cases of congenital syphilis in the Americas (in 37 reporting countries and territories) in 2015, with a growing rate of 1.7 cases per 1,000 live births. Brazil’s growing rate influences the regional rate. An analysis excluding Brazil shows stable congenital syphilis rates since 2009.
• In 2015, 22 countries and territories in the Region of the Americas reported data compatible with achievement of the goal and targets of HIV MTCT elimination (same number as in 2014), and 20 reported data compatible with elimination of MTCT of syphilis (two more than in 2014). Of these countries and territories, 18 (one more than in 2014) reported data indicating the elimination of MTCT of both HIV and syphilis.