The Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-o-cha, received a certificate from the World Health Organization (WHO) on 20 June confirming the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis in the country. Thailand is the first country in Asia to reach the milestone, which was officially announced earlier this month at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS.
UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Luiz Loures, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the Minister of Public Health of Thailand, Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, and representatives of other organizations and partners participated in the event, which took place in Bangkok, Thailand.
According to Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, 98% of all pregnant women living with HIV have access to antiretroviral therapy and the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV has been reduced to 1.91%. WHO’s global guidelines consider mother-to-child transmission of HIV to be effectively eliminated when the rate of transmission falls below 2%.
In 2000, an estimated 1000 children became infected with HIV through mother-to-child transmission. By 2015, that number had dropped to 85. This is a significant achievement in a country where an estimated 440 000 people were living with HIV in 2015.
“This is part of the country's policy to implement programmes that start from the day of birth. This success is due to cooperation between the state, the private sector, international organizations and the public.”
Prayut Chan-o-cha Prime Minister of Thailand
“The elimination of mother-to-child transmission in Thailand is an important milestone in our efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Thailand’s visionary and engaged leadership has made this achievement possible.”
Luiz Loures UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director
