Nadja discovered she was HIV-positive two years ago while preparing for her wedding. Eight months after getting married, she became pregnant and started worrying about her baby’s health.
She dreaded that her child might be born HIV-positive due to her own condition.
In Comoros, all HIV-positive pregnant women, including Nadja, receive support through the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) program. This program provides medical and psychological follow-up to protect children from the risk of contamination during pregnancy or childbirth. The prevalence of HIV among pregnant women in the Comoros is 0.03%, and the Ministry of Health aims to eliminate all mother-to-child transmission.
To achieve this goal, the government, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), has trained healthcare workers specialized in monitoring pregnancies and deliveries. These professionals, such as Ichata Hassani, a midwife at the El’maarouf National Hospital Center in Moroni, are well-equipped to educate pregnant women during their first prenatal consultation. The PMTCT strategy relies on women accepting to know their serological status.
All HIV-positive pregnant women are placed on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, ensuring that their children are born healthy. Women are more willing to be tested due to the success of this prevention strategy. Once detected, the woman is followed by a referral doctor, placed on treatment, and supported until the child’s birth. The newborn also receives treatment for a month and is then tested, usually with negative results.
In 2021, all HIV-positive pregnant women benefited from the PMTCT program, and 100% of the newborns were tested negative. The Comoros aims, by 2025, to eliminate new infections among infants, to have 75% of pregnant women know their serological status, and to reduce the number of new infections by 75% compared to 2020. Dr. Nassuri Ahamada, Head of HIV/AIDS Control at WHO Comoros, emphasizes that the success of this strategy relies on a strong commitment from health authorities and should enable the country to soon achieve the goals of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Seven months after her child’s birth, Nadja feels reassured and happy. Thanks to her treatment, her viral load is undetectable, and she can fully enjoy her healthy baby.
Source: WHO
