#26 | Denmark Becomes First EU Country to Eliminate Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and

In this episode of the GMJ Podcast — the official podcast of the Georgian Medical Journal, we examine a major global public health milestone reported by the World Health Organization: Denmark has become the first country in the European Union to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. The WHO certification recognizes Denmark’s sustained commitment to ensuring that every child is born free of these infections, achieved through strong maternal health systems, universal healthcare and integrated prenatal screening programs. To reach this milestone, Denmark maintained extremely low transmission rates while achieving high coverage of testing and treatment among pregnant women, meeting WHO validation criteria between 2021 and 2024. WHO validation requires that countries test and treat at least 95% of pregnant women and maintain very low infant infection rates, below 50 cases per 100,000 births over multiple years. Denmark’s success has been supported by:• universal access to maternal health services• routine HIV and syphilis screening during pregnancy• early treatment and prevention programmes• strong national surveillance and data systems• rights-based healthcare policies ensuring equal access to careThe WHO also notes that Denmark is now working toward “triple elimination,” adding hepatitis B prevention to the existing HIV and syphilis achievements. This milestone demonstrates that sustained investment in primary healthcare, maternal health services and integrated screening programmes can effectively prevent vertical transmission of infectious diseases and protect newborn health.Original WHO source discussed in this episode:https://www.who.int/news/item/27-02-2026-denmark-becomes-first-country-in-the-european-union-to-eliminate-of-mother-to-child-transmission-of-hiv-and-syphilisThe GMJ Podcast accompanies peer-reviewed publications and global health policy discussions published in the Georgian Medical Journal.Journal website:https://gmj.ge/index.php/pub/index#გიორგიფხაკაძე #drpkhakadze #sheniekimi