The World Health Organization (WHO) ratified Cuba's certification of the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection and syphilis as a health problem.

Since 2015 Cuba has reached this condition, which is a remarkable achievement in terms of public health, according to the statement issued by the WHO to the Ministry of Public Health, released today by Granma newspaper.

The approval, the first in the world, was reached after a thorough revision led by the Regional Validation Committee, along with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

The Global Validation Advisory Committee (GVAC) was particularly impressed by national indicators in this area during 2017-2018.

The report endorsing the certification of this target in 2015, explained that our country had achieved a rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV of 1.85%, below the regional average, and below the target of 2% agreed by the countries.

This achievement has been possible thanks to the Cuban State's efforts in different sorts of actions, such as guaranteeing prenatal care, with ten controls per pregnant woman on average, institutional childbirth, with qualified personnel, serological testing and HIV detection during pregnancy, with active surveillance of pregnant women with positive serology for HIV or syphilis, and access to antiretroviral treatment, as established by international organizations.