Bahamas Earns WHO Certification for Ending HIV Transmission from Mothers to Babies

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially recognized The Bahamas for eliminating the spread of HIV from mothers to their children, marking a major public health milestone in the Caribbean.

“I congratulate The Bahamas on this outstanding achievement, which solidifies years of political commitment, and the dedication of health workers,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “By ensuring that children are born free of HIV, we are securing a healthier, brighter future for the next generation.”

Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and WHO Regional Director for the Americas, added: “This achievement reflects sustained political commitment and strong national leadership, alongside the dedication and compassion of the health workforce. As we look ahead, this milestone is not only a moment of national pride but also an opportunity to build on this success, advancing efforts to end HIV and other communicable diseases as public health threats across the Caribbean and the Americas.”

What Made This Success Possible

The Bahamas reached this goal by creating a health-care system that covers everyone. A key part of the effort was offering universal antenatal care to all pregnant women, no matter their nationality or legal status, in both public and private clinics. This system relies on a strong network of labs and a strict testing plan that screens women at their first prenatal visit and again during the third trimester.

Programs to stop mother-to-child transmission are built directly into standard prenatal care. They operate under the Maternal and Child Health program, which works with the National Infectious Disease Programme to manage HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. This includes offering pregnant women pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV. To make sure care continues without gaps, the health system tracks HIV-positive mothers and babies who were exposed, provides several months’ worth of antiretroviral medicines at a time, and offers free treatment for STIs and family planning services.

“For years, The Bahamas have been working very hard to address the situation of HIV/AIDS,” said Dr. Michael Darville, Minister of Health and Wellness of The Bahamas. “A lot of people have been involved in us achieving this great milestone – our nurses in our public health system, our nurses and doctors in our tertiary health-care system and, by extension, all of the clinics spread throughout our archipelago.”

The Bahamas now joins 11 other countries and territories in the Americas that have earned this certification. Cuba was the first country in the world to be certified, and Brazil received the honor last year. The Bahamas plans to keep up these high standards through continued primary care and ongoing monitoring.

What It Takes to Get Certified

To receive WHO certification, a country must prove it has met three key targets for a sustained period:

– Keeping the mother-to-child HIV transmission rate below 2%

– Having fewer than 5 new HIV infections in children for every 1,000 live births

– Maintaining at least 95% coverage for prenatal care, HIV testing, and treatment for pregnant women

“Latin America and the Caribbean has long been a beacon of progress in this global effort. From Cuba – the first country in the world to be certified – to Brazil’s certification last year, and now to The Bahamas, the region continues to lead with ambition and determination,” said Anurita Bains, Global Associate Director for HIV/AIDS at UNICEF. “Today, more than half of all countries and territories that have achieved elimination are from this region. This is a legacy of leadership that inspires the world.”

“The Bahamas are showing that eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections is possible,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. “This achievement reflects political will for steady investment in primary health care and the work of health teams and people living with and most affected by HIV. When women can test early in pregnancy, start treatment quickly, and stay in care, every child has a better chance of being born free of HIV and other STIs.”

The Bahamas’ success is part of a larger effort called the EMTCT Plus Initiative, which aims to stop mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, and congenital Chagas disease. This initiative is carried out with UNICEF and UNAIDS and is part of PAHO’s Elimination Initiative, a regional plan to eliminate more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030.