In a landmark public health victory that cements its position as a global leader in HIV response, The Bahamas has officially secured international certification for eliminating mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV, health authorities announced Wednesday. The Caribbean nation has cut transmission rates to 2% or below — meeting the strict global threshold that classifies MTCT of HIV as no longer a major public health threat, joining just 12 other countries worldwide to achieve this transformative milestone.
Dr. Nikkiah Forbes, director of The Bahamas’ National Infectious Diseases Programme, clarified that the certification does not mean zero transmission across the country. Instead, it confirms that cases have become so infrequent that they no longer qualify as a public health emergency, a recognition that comes after years of targeted investment and sustained public health action.
The certification was granted following a rigorous assessment of five core international performance indicators: population-level MTCT rates, perinatal HIV incidence, antenatal care coverage, HIV testing access during pregnancy, and treatment availability for pregnant people living with HIV. Between 2022 and 2024, The Bahamas met or exceeded every required target, according to official public health data.
Perinatal HIV incidence hit 0.2 per 1,000 live births over the three-year period — well below the 0.3 per 1,000 benchmark set by global health authorities. Antenatal care coverage reached 98.3% of pregnant people across the country, while 97.5% of expecting mothers received HIV testing during pregnancy. More than 95% of pregnant people living with HIV accessed life-saving antiretroviral therapy, a key intervention to prevent transmission to newborns. Out of nearly 10,000 live births recorded in the period, only two cases of perinatal HIV transmission were confirmed.
A follow-up in-country assessment conducted in October 2024 verified program delivery, cross-checked national data, evaluated laboratory testing capacity, and collected patient feedback to confirm the country’s sustained performance against global standards.
Forbes emphasized that the milestone is not an endpoint for the nation’s HIV response. Moving forward, public health authorities will prioritize preserving these gains through expanded early antenatal care access, consistent routine testing, strengthened disease surveillance, and targeted outreach to vulnerable populations, including migrant communities that face disproportionate barriers to care.
Preliminary 2024 data indicates The Bahamas is already on track to meet its 2030 target of eliminating AIDS as a public health threat. This year, 95% of all people living with HIV in the country know their status, 78% of diagnosed people are accessing antiretroviral treatment, and 91% of people on treatment have achieved undetectable viral loads — a marker of successful treatment that eliminates transmission risk.
Still, Forbes acknowledged persistent gaps in the national response. Work is already underway to decentralize antiretroviral therapy access across more public health clinics, expanding availability for communities outside major urban centers. She also noted that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a highly effective HIV prevention medication for at-risk HIV-negative people, remains underutilized across the country, even as uptake has slowly increased in recent years.
“PrEP use is going up, but I do want to say that PrEP is underutilized everywhere,” Forbes said. “For those that are listening, PrEP is a medication. It is a prevention strategy for people who are HIV negative, who have an increased risk of getting HIV, and that could be someone who’s had an STI in the past six months to a year, someone who may have multiple partners and is not always using condoms, someone who has one partner but thinks that their partner may have multiple partners and is not always using condoms.”
Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Michael Darville credited the achievement to the hard work of frontline healthcare workers and the resilience of the country’s national health system. “This certification requires not only quality clinical services, but also the ability to monitor performance and verify results. The capacity will remain critical as we maintain this high level of standard across both the public and private healthcare setting,” Darville said.
He stressed that the certification is not a one-time win, but a standard that requires long-term investment to maintain. “This means continued investment in our workforce, reliable access to diagnostics and treatment and strong supply chains and sustain coverage of services across all of our islands that are inhabited,” he added. Darville also paid tribute to former Health Minister Dr. Perry Gomez, the founding director of the national AIDS program, who passed away in 2023, for laying the groundwork for this achievement.
Dr. Eldonna Boisson, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization representative for The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, said the milestone is the product of decades of sustained collaboration and targeted investment between national authorities and global health partners. “It’s an opportunity to reflect on the work that brought us here. The hard long work, and to recognise the systems and the partnerships that sustain progress and to reaffirm our shared responsibility to protect the health of mothers and children. Today, we celebrate lives protected, futures secure, and a nation that has shown what leadership in public health looks like,” Boisson said.
In a video message marking the announcement, Prime Minister Philip Davis said the achievement reflects a decades-long national commitment to prioritizing the health and well-being of mothers and children across the archipelago.
