By A Correspondent – Zimbabwe is stepping up efforts to stop infants from contracting HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B at birth, with government now shifting focus to closing gaps in paediatric treatment and strengthening care for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Health authorities say nearly 3,000 babies are still expected to be born with HIV in 2026, a figure that has forced renewed urgency in prevention and treatment programmes.

National Coordinator for Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission and Paediatric HIV Care in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Angela Mushavi, said projections for this year put new child infections at 2,813. She noted that most of the cases are linked to mothers who are not on antiretrovirals, those who stop treatment, and women who contract HIV while pregnant or nursing.

While Zimbabwe has made strong gains in adult treatment, with antiretroviral coverage estimated at 98 percent, and mother-to-child prevention services reaching 92 percent of eligible women, the picture for children remains concerning.

“Paediatric treatment is lagging far behind. We have 53 percent coverage for children on ART. It’s a huge contrast with adults at 98 percent, and it’s an area we must urgently fix,” Dr Mushavi said.

An estimated 65,000 children aged 0-14 are living with HIV in Zimbabwe. At the same time, between 43,000 and 44,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women need services under the country’s drive for triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B.

Despite the 92 percent PMTCT coverage, Zimbabwe is still off track on several World Health Organisation benchmarks for gold-tier status. WHO requires vertical transmission of HIV to be under 5 percent, and new HIV and syphilis infections to be fewer than 250 per 100,000 live births. Zimbabwe’s current transmission rate at the end of breastfeeding is 6.48 percent.

Antenatal care attendance is also below target. First quarter figures for 2026 show 85 percent of women accessed ANC, against a goal of 95 percent or more.

“HIV testing in pregnancy remains high at 99 percent, but syphilis testing dropped from 95 percent to 81 percent in Q1 due to shortages of dual test kits,” Dr Mushavi said. Hepatitis B testing is still weak, rising only slightly from 15 percent in 2025 to 22 percent in the first quarter of 2026. Treatment for hepatitis B-positive mothers improved from 82 percent to 87 percent.

Teenage pregnancies are another pressing issue. Girls and young women up to age 24 made up 51 percent of ANC clients in the first quarter. Dr Mushavi warned this group faces higher risk of acquiring HIV during pregnancy and breastfeeding, even if they tested negative early on.

Analysis shows the biggest driver of new infant infections is mothers not on ART, followed by those who start but do not stay on treatment. Women who get infected during pregnancy or while breastfeeding also contribute significantly.

“We must protect these young women. We need to scale up pre-exposure prophylaxis and other biomedical options so they remain HIV-negative through pregnancy and breastfeeding,” she said.

Officials stressed that early treatment for babies is lifesaving. In 2025, about 87,000 HIV-exposed infants were tested, and 92 percent received a test within two months of birth, though that marked a small drop from prior years.

To address the gaps, Zimbabwe is drafting a new triple elimination strategy covering 2027 to 2030 with support from UNAIDS, UNICEF, WHO and the National AIDS Council. Ahead of the next Global Fund cycle, 20 high-burden districts that account for roughly half of HIV-positive pregnant women have been targeted for intensified interventions.

Key priorities include expanding HIV testing and retesting in pregnancy, boosting ART uptake, improving early infant diagnosis and paediatric case finding, and tackling structural barriers such as child marriage, stigma and gender-based violence. The plan also includes rolling out long-acting PrEP for HIV-negative adolescent girls and young women.

Dr Mushavi said better maternal services alone will not be enough.

“We cannot close this gap unless we also fix paediatric care — stronger early diagnosis, better linkage to treatment, and keeping children on ART,” she said.