UN chief hails Armenia for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday, June 8 that new HIV infections among children are down by 56 percent in the past fifteen years.

“Four countries have eliminated them completely: Cuba, Thailand, Armenia and Belarus. I hope we will reach zero new infections among children soon,” Ban said.

“None of this could have happened without the leadership of people living with HIV, and civil society partners on the ground around the world. They believed that more equitable treatment and access was possible, and they made sure that we responded.”

“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development affirms the global commitment to ending the epidemic within 15 years. Action now could avert an estimated 17.6 million new infections and 11 million premature deaths between 2016 and 2030,” Ban added.

Armenia has eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the United Nations said earlier.

Also, Belarus has eliminating mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and syphilis, while Moldova has overcome only that of syphilis.