African ministers applaud the decrease in the number of HIV cases transmitted from mother to their children in a meeting conducted in Rome on Friday. The drop in the number of cases is a direct result of intensified treatment process.

In the meeting hosted by the Catholic Charity of Sant’Egidio, Minister of Health Mary Shababa said that the cases of mother-to-child transmission of HIV dropped from 33.1% to 1.5%. She added that this phenomenon depends largely on the treatments conducted in Malawi.

Marco Impagliazzo said that a generation of African children are born without HIV thanks to treatment. Impagliazzo is the head of the charity that operates testing laboratories and treatment programs in a couple of African countries.

The meeting was attended by health ministers from a total of 18 African countries. Ministers from the countries with the highest prevalence of HIV world-wide – Malawi, Kenya, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Uganda – also attended the said meeting.

A research, released on Thursday, studied generally heterosexual couples from Americas, India, and Africa, found out that people inflicted with HIV who take antiretroviral way before they health starts to decline have a 96% lesser chances of transmitting the disease to their sexual partners. This study will change the face of HIV management in 20-30 years.

The head of the Catholic Church in Italy, Angelo Bagnasco, said that the best prevention we can offer our people is treating all of those who are infected with HIV. He added that people must be constantly educated to erase the fear of coming out due to social stigma.