Fewer babies born with HIV in South Africa
Fewer than two babies out of every 100 born to HIV-positive mothers in South Africa are infected with HIV at birth.
These low rates point to the success of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme in South Africa that has resulted in a decrease of the transmission rate from about 30% at six weeks in the early 2000s, to the 2015/2016 rate of 1.5%.
The Western Cape, which pioneered the country’s PMTCT programme in the late 90s and early 2000s, has often been one step ahead. In 2003, the province’s mother-to-child transmission figure was 17.3% at six weeks. In the 2014/2015 year the rate was down to about 1.4% – under the national target of 1.8%. The most recent figures in the Western Cape show that from April to December last year, at ten weeks after birth, the rates of mother-to-child transmission peaked at 1.4% and at their lowest were just over 0.4%.
Source: goodnewsdaily.co.za