--- title: Mother to Child HIV Transmission: Cuba Eliminates HIV in Newborns description: Cuba is the first country to eliminate the transfer of HIV and Syphilis from mother to child, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday canonical: https://time.com/3943045/cuba-hiv-mother-daughter/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-01T14:52:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:43.303Z article:section: Health og:title: Mother to Child HIV Transmission: Cuba Eliminates HIV in Newborns og:description: Cuba is the first country to eliminate the transfer of HIV and Syphilis from mother to child, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday og:url: https://time.com/3943045/cuba-hiv-mother-daughter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt722263d23143a8cd/698859453c1639e0ff458aa7/cuba-hiv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: A new born baby rests beside his mother at the Ana Betancourt de Mora Hospital in Camaguey, Cuba, June 19, 2015. The World Health Organization on Tuesday declared Cuba the first country in the world to eliminate the transmission of HIV and syphilis from og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mother to Child HIV Transmission: Cuba Eliminates HIV in Newborns twitter:description: Cuba is the first country to eliminate the transfer of HIV and Syphilis from mother to child, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt722263d23143a8cd/698859453c1639e0ff458aa7/cuba-hiv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cuba Eliminates HIV Transmission from Mother to Child > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=f12feca0-bdaf-47b5-bebc-840c14044beb&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Ebola: The Deadly Virus Outbreak Explained [Watch (HLS stream): Ebola: The Deadly Virus Outbreak Explained](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oB7TO3G5.m3u8) (1:36)  _Published 2014-07-29. A look at the numbers behind the largest ebola outbreak on record, which has killed 670 people thus far._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 1, 2015 2:52 PM UTC  A new born baby rests beside his mother at the Ana Betancourt de Mora Hospital in Camaguey, Cuba, on June 19, 2015. A new born baby rests beside his mother at the Ana Betancourt de Mora Hospital in Camaguey, Cuba, on June 19, 2015. Alexandre Meneghini—Reuters  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 1, 2015 2:52 PM UTC Cuba is the first country to eliminate the transfer of HIV and Syphilis from mother to child, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Tuesday. Only two babies were born with HIV in the country 2013, a low enough number to meet the WHO standard. “This is a celebration for Cuba and a celebration for children and families everywhere,” said Michel Sidibé, executive director of the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, in a statement. The achievement is at least in part the result of a five-year program by WHO and the Pan American Health Organization to eliminate prenatal transmission of HIV in the region. The program has included testing for pregnant women and treatment for women who test positive. Effective treatment of HIV in pregnant women can reduce the risk of passing the disease to a child to just 1%, down from as high as 45% otherwise. Around 1.4 million women with HIV become pregnant every year. And while the number of mother to child transmissions has declined dramatically in recent years, from about 400,000 in 2009 to 240,000 2013, WHO officials hope to see the number drop below 40,000. ## Transcript The Ebola virus is highly contagious and one of the deadliest viruses in the world. A current outbreak is raging in the three West African states of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. The outbreak, which has killed over 670. People is the largest Ebola outbreak on record. It won't be considered over until no new confirmed cases appear for 42 days. There have been at least 1, 093 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of Ebola in the current outbreak. Humans contract the virus from infected animals or other humans through contact with bodily fluids. Typically, the virus kills around 90 % of those who are infected. But thanks to early treatment, the number has dropped to 60 % in the current outbreak. Because it can take between 2 and 21 days for symptoms to show, health officials suggest keeping a 21 day fever watch. In addition to fever, other symptoms are headaches, joint pain, lack of appetite, difficulty breathing, and sore throat. In later stages, Ebola causes diarrhea, vomiting, and internal bleeding. Though it's been almost 40 years since the disease was first discovered in 1976, the grim reality is that there are currently no cures or effective treatments for the virus. 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