Moroni — Nadja* was in the midst of planning her wedding two years ago when she learned that she was HIV-positive. 

"I couldn't quite believe it at first,” she says. But when she became pregnant eight months after the wedding, anguish set in. 

"I feared for the baby. He had done nothing, but he was still at risk of being born HIV-positive. I became more and more worried,” says Nadja.

Like all HIV-positive pregnant women in the Comoros, Nadja receives support as part of the government’s prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme. The medical and psychological support to mothers living with HIV helps protect their health and prevent the transmission of the virus to the baby during pregnancy or childbirth.

HIV prevalence among pregnant women in Comoros stands at 0.03%. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission is one of the priorities of the country’s national HIV/AIDS policy, and the Ministry of Health has set a goal to end mother-to-child HIV transmission.

As one of the measures to help prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, the government, with support from World Health Organization (WHO), has trained health workers involved in monitoring pregnancy through to delivery in the care of people living with HIV.

“We’ve been equipped to raise awareness among pregnant women during their first prenatal consultation. The PMTCT strategy is based on women's acceptance of their HIV status,” says Ichata Hassani, a midwife at the El'maarouf National Hospital in the capital Moroni. “At first it wasn't easy because of HIV-related stigma and discrimination.”

“All HIV-positive pregnant women are put on treatment, and all give birth to healthy children,” Hassani says. “The successful outcome (of the programme) has helped us a lot.”

Souef Anima, the head of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme, explains that once pregnant women are tested and found to be living with HIV, they receive close monitoring and regular check-ups by a doctor and their newborns also receive care. “When the newborn gets to one month old, we do a test, which is usually negative,” she says.

Thanks to the success of the country’s prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme, pregnant women are now readily stepping up to get tested. 

As of 2021 all pregnant women living with HIV in Comoros had been put on antiretroviral therapy and received care and monitoring under the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programme. All their children were born free of the virus. 

By 2025 Comoros aims to achieve zero new infections in infants born to mothers living with HIV, to have 75% of pregnant women knowing their HIV status, and a 75% reduction in the number of new infections compared with 2020.

“The success of the Comoros strategy to combat mother-to-child transmission of HIV is due to the strong commitment from health authorities and should enable the country to soon achieve the objectives of eliminating the disease,” says Dr Nassuri Ahamada, Head of HIV/AIDS Control at WHO in Comoros. 
Seven months after the birth of her child, Nadja is reassured. She is determined to fight the virus so that her child can grow and thrive in good health.

“Thanks to my treatment, which I continue to follow, my viral load is undetectable. The care has really restored my hope. I can say today that I am happy, with a healthy child in my arms.”

*Pseudonym