Hosted by WHO SEARO, with support from WHO PAHO, this webinar features speakers from the Brazil Ministry of Health and experts in elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT). We discuss global and Latin American initiatives, with a specific focus on Brazil's pioneering efforts towards eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, syphilis, Chagas disease, and HTLV through innovative strategies including a subnational approach. Brazil's health system, Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), based on decentralized universal access, plays a pivotal role in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance of these infections. The country's commitment to eliminating mother-to-child transmission as a public health problem is reinforced by specific impact goals aimed at reducing transmission rates and improving treatment coverage.
The presentations cover the strategies, challenges, and successes encountered in the journey towards subnational certification of elimination. Critical aspects such as policy development, community engagement, healthcare delivery, and monitoring and evaluation frameworks that have contributed to Brazil's remarkable progress in this field are also covered. Opportunities for advancing EMTCT are explored, including advanced HIV projects, mobile population initiatives, and collaborations with organizations such as UNAIDS, UNICEF, and PAHO. The importance of early engagement, meaningful community involvement, adequate surveillance systems, and quality assurance in laboratory testing is underscored as critical components of the validation process of EMTCT.
The subnational certification process encourages local efforts towards elimination, with tiers of certification (bronze, silver, gold) based on progress in reducing mother-to-child transmission rates. Operationalization of the certification process involves detailed steps and criteria for validating the process at all stages. It also highlights the importance of the strengthening of partnerships between the state and municipality.
The webinar highlights key lessons learned and best practices from Brazil's experience that are valuable for countries in the South-East Asia Region, not only in the considerations of adopting a subnational approach, breaking silos, but also in collaborative efforts and partnerships in public health initiatives.Agenda:
| Agenda | Speaker (with simultaneous translation) |
|---|---|
| Welcome remarks Introduction to the subnational approach in the SEARO context (English) | Po-lin Chan Regional Advisor, HEP/HIV/STIs WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia |
| Elimination of vertical transmission of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, syphilis, Chagas disease and HTLV - global and American initiatives (Portuguese) | Angelica Espinosa Miranda Full Professor at the Federal University of Espírito Santo and Member of the GVAC/WHO (Global Validation Advisory Committee) |
| National protocol for the prevention of vertical transmission and adaptation of the certification of the elimination of vertical transmission to the national context (English) | Pamêla Gaspar Department of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Viral Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections, Ministry of Health, Brazil |
| Operationalisation of the subnational certification process of the elimination of vertical transmission (Portuguese) | Leonor D'Lannoy Nurse & STI consultant, Ministry of Health, Brazil |
| Dialogue and Q&A | |
| Summary and Closing | SEARO |
Webinar recording: