Barbados met the test for ending mother-to-child HIV transmission

Barbados has eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV as a public health problem, the World Health Organization said on October 30, 2026. An independent assessment found that from 2022 through 2024 no infant born in Barbados was reported to have acquired HIV from a mother. In those three years, 98 percent of pregnant women received antenatal care, 98 percent were tested for HIV, and 98 percent of pregnant women living with HIV received antiretroviral treatment.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the result shows free care for every pregnant woman, regardless of nationality, with testing that stays voluntary and private. Pan American Health Organization director Jarbas Barbosa called it proof that the transmission can be stopped when women and children can reach services. Queen Elizabeth Hospital accounts for about 93 percent of births. Barbados is now among 26 countries and territories recognized for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, or hepatitis B, or for being on track. Fifteen of those are in the Americas. The certification does not mean HIV is gone from Barbados. WHO said the country still needs continued funding, updated guidelines, stronger records, wider HIV and syphilis testing, and better follow-up for women and children if the result is going to hold.