The Bahamas ends mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

The Bahamas has been recognised as having eliminated the mother-to-child transmission of HIV, according to a press release issued by the World Health Organization on 22 April 2026. The has been achieved through the establishment of a comprehensive universal healthcare system, and the implementation of an Elimination of Mother-To-Child Transmission program, which aims to eliminate the mother-to-child transmission of three diseases, HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis B. Under the terms of this program, all expectant mothers are offered screening for these diseases, as well as treatments to prevent transmission to the child. The program has also included making available pre-exposure prophylaxis treatments for HIV, which prevent people becoming infected following an initial exposure, reducing the prevalence of HIV in the population. The Bahamas becomes the twelfth country in the Americas Region to have eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

The national flag of the Bahamas. St Kitts & Nevis Observer.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, is a form of Lentivirus which causes infections in Humans, spread through sexual intercourse or exchange of blood. Notably, the Virus infects the cells of the Human immune system, where it is hard for that immune system to attack, and eventually leads to a breakdown of the immune system known as AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), during which the body becomes vulnerable to a wide range of infections, including many by micro-organisms which are not usually pathogenic. 

Untreated, HIV invariably leads to AIDS, and AIDS is invariably fatal, but, as with Syphilis, HIV infections can go through long phases of dormancy, leaving infected people unaware that they have the disease. Neither an effective vaccine nor a cure for HIV has yet been developed, however, it is possible to suppress the infection with a combination of anti-viral drugs, allowing patients to lead relatively normal lives, as long as their supply of antivirals is not interrupted. Children born to mothers with HIV are not automatically infected, as the Virus is usually unable to cross the placenta, but there is a high chance of infection during birth if the mother is not receiving treatment.

Scanning electron microscope image of an HIV virion. Hockley et al. (1988). 

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