Erongo, Kavango East and Omaheke regions have been recognised for greatly contributing towards the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and Hepatitis B, the health ministry announced last week.
The regions were awarded floating trophies, which they will keep for 12 months. They will either retain or lose them based on their performance and yearly regional progress reviews.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) last Monday also certified Namibia when it became the first country in Africa and the first high-burden country in the world to reach a key milestone in eliminating the mother-to-child transmission of HIV and viral Hepatitis B.
Erongo’s performance is outstanding, with the lowest mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV cases per 100 000 live births each year. Regional health director Dr Anna Jonas told New Era about the dedication of the healthcare workers to the achievements the region attained, adding that commitment and hard work do pay off.
“We need to do more and regularly observe all the facilities in the region, identify shortcomings and address them. It is important to eliminate HIV/AIDS, especially mother-to-child transmission. This milestone the country has achieved proves it is indeed possible,” she exclaimed.
With a capacity of four district hospitals, health centres and 18 clinics, Erongo recorded 325 MTCT cases in 2022.
Jonas noted that prevention is always the best, considering there are instances where children blame their parents for being with the virus. “This programme has proven to be effective in helping families, where sometimes children end up blaming their parents when born with HIV. Additionally, the various forms of discrimination towards persons with HIV stand a chance of being reduced. We provide these services to everyone who needs them – and honestly, discrimination and stigma are issues that need to be rooted out of society. It is one of the ways that people can confidently seek the help they need on time,” stated the medical officer.
Omaheke regional health director Jeremia Shikulo was relieved by the progress the region had made.
“We are happy to have contributed to this milestone in our healthcare. There is still room for improvement. This is not a one-man show. It’s a team of dedicated healthcare workers, mothers and babies, who have greatly made this programme what it is now. This programme is what it is because of the dedicated mothers,” he said.
He added that the ministry is committed to making this programme even better by ensuring that HIV-positive expectant mothers get the help they need to give birth to HIV-negative babies, saying “We need to do it at all costs”.
Health administrator Ervin Tibinyane said Omaheke is the most improved region for the Path to Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of the Hepatitis B virus in 2024.
“HBV birth dose increased from 72.4% in 2020 to 100% in 2022. There is one district hospital, one health centre and 15 clinics. It is one district; one region. For the most improved regions, they are on the right track, and must continue putting in extra efforts towards attaining the status of the best-performing region in the next progress review,” he stated.
He said: “The other regions are currently performing very well, but there is room for improvement to become the best-performing region, so take this as a challenge to ensure Erongo and Omusati regions sweat if they are to retain their number one spots in the next year’s progress review”.
Notably, Kavango East is the Most Improved Regional Trophy for the Path to Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV.
The region reduced its MTCT cases per 100 000 live births by 311 (31.3%) from 994 in 2020 to 682 in 2022. Kavango East has district hospitals, one health centre and 29 clinics.
Other regions that were recognised include Omusati, which had an HBV birth dose of 93.1% in 2020 and 100% in 2022. There are four district hospitals, six health centres and 41 clinics.
The PMTCT programme is integrated into maternal and child health service delivery settings, namely antenatal care (ANC), labour and delivery and postnatal care (PNC) services.
PMTCT services are fully-funded by the government, and available in the public sector for all at no cost to the clients.
Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula said Namibia has made significant progress in this regard. By the end of 2023, 98.5% of babies born to HIV-positive mothers in Namibia were HIV-free.
“For a country with a high HIV and HBV burden to be recognised as being on the path to the elimination of MTCT for these diseases is a significant achievement. Namibia’s investment in health, particularly in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of infectious diseases, such as HIV and Hepatitis B, is paying off and bearing fruit,” he said on the margins of the Africa Health Workforce Investment Forum in Windhoek last week.
He noted that in 2021 and 2022, Namibia attained almost 100% of HIV testing among pregnant women attending ANC, compared to 99.74% in 2020 and 99.5% in 2021.
Shangula indicated that ART coverage among HIV-positive pregnant women was 98.4% in both years.