The World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed Namibia as the first African country to reach a significant milestone on the path towards eliminating mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and viral hepatitis B.
According to the African Region Office of the World Health Organisation on Monday, Eastern and Southern Africa is home to more than half the world’s HIV burden and Africa accounts for two-thirds of new hepatitis B infections globally.
The global health body further noted that Namibia is home to more than 200,000 people living with HIV and new infections disproportionately impacting females.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has the highest burden of children born with HIV in the world.
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High-burden HIV countries are defined as those with more than two per cent of pregnant women living with the virus.
“Progress is possible. Globally, 2.5 million children have avoided vertical transmission of HIV since 2010, 28,000 of whom are in Namibia. HIV testing among pregnant women is almost universally available across the country and access to treatment has led to a 70 per cent reduction in vertical transmission in the last 20 years. In 2022, only four per cent of babies born to mothers living with HIV acquired the virus.
“Almost 80 per cent of infants received a timely birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine, one of the key metrics of success on the path to elimination,” WHO stated.
It noted that Namibia has integrated primary health care with antenatal, child health, and sexual and reproductive health services, and the government committed stable domestic finance to national health programmes, offering widely accessible, quality, and free-of-charge clinical services and support.
Based on specified criteria, WHO awarded Namibia “silver tier” status for progress on reducing hepatitis B and “bronze tier” for progress on HIV.
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Namibia’s achievement follows a concerted strategy to curb the transmission of hepatitis B, HIV, and syphilis.
“This is a landmark achievement by Namibia that demonstrates the life-saving possibilities of committed political leadership and effective implementation of public health priorities,” said the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti.
“With concerted efforts, we can accelerate progress to reach the goals of ending mother-to-child transmission of HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis – the triple elimination.”
The validation process, led by WHO in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, and the United Nations Population Fund, evaluates data and standardises milestones for eliminating diseases.
Among other factors, WHO certifies a country as having attained silver tier status when the hepatitis B vaccine is given to 50 per cent or more newborns.
