The Caribbean is on track to become the first region to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, but while there has been a decline of HIV incidence in the region of some 49% it still remains the second most affected region in the world after Sub-Saharan Africa due to the population size compared to other regions, Director of the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) Coordinating Unit Dereck Springer said yesterday.
“That [the reduction of mother-to-child transmission] is something that we can extremely proud of; we have been able to do this because of national and regional efforts have seen significant numbers… the majority of pregnant women accessing HIV testing during their pregnancy…and those who test positive put in treatment…” Springer told a media breakfast