Namibia reduces mother-to-child HIV transmission to 3.8%

Namibia is the first African country to reduce the transmission of HIV from mother to child from 13.4% to about 3.8% in a period of 10 years.

Speaking to Desert FM recently, health ministry executive director Ben Nangombe said the country has achieved milestones in combating HIV.

“For 2024, some of the notable successes we can point to is Namibia being recognised and certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for being on the path towards the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and the elimination of hepatitis B virus,” Nangombe said.

According to WHO, 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% reduction of vertical transmission in the last 20 years.

In 2022, only 4% of babies born to mothers living with HIV acquired the virus.

Almost 80% of infants received a timely birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, one of the key metrics of success on the path to elimination, WHO stated in a press release earlier this year.

Nangombe noted that Namibia was also recognised by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) for being on the path to achieve the 95-95-95 targets.

“We now stand at 93-95-99, meaning that all people who are HIV positive in Namibia have been tested and they know their status, with 95% of those who know their status having initiated treatment and of 99% of those who are on treatment being virally suppressed,” Nangombe said.

In an article in early November, The Namibian reported that more than 7 000 children in Namibia are living with HIV-AIDS.

The ministry said the HIV prevalence among 15 to 49-year-olds stands at 9.7%, with women representing 12.7% and men 6.6%.

The ministry recorded 6 049 new HIV infections from all age groups, with women reporting the highest, with 3 955 new infections and men with 2 094.

Namibia further reported 3 659 AIDS-related deaths from all age groups. Of this, 1 543 are men and 2 116 women.

Despite the HIV prevalence remaining high, particularly among women, the ministry aims to achieve the 95-95-95 target.

The executive director reflected on the groundbreaking ceremony for the Windhoek District Hospital, scheduled to be completed in four years.

According to Nangombe, the idea is to build a 500-bed district hospital because the Khomas region does not have a district hospital.

Commenting on the issue of medical doctor interns who took to the streets on 19 November to demand outstanding overtime payments, Nangombe appealed to the interns to continue attending the training sessions in order for the government to sign them off at the end of their intern period.

“What is going to transpire is that the interns will continue attending to the work they have at the ministry, in order for them to have the leeway to be recorded as attending these training sessions, because if they don’t attend the training sessions, there’s no way they will be signed off at the end of the day,” he said.

The interns are further demanding better working conditions and access to medical aid.