Uganda has reaffirmed its continental leadership in the fight against mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B at the official launch of the Triple Elimination Conference 2025, hosted in Kampala in partnership with the African Union and Africa CDC.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice President Jessica Alupo hailed Uganda’s significant progress, attributing it to strong political will, community engagement, and strategic health investments.
“Our response was driven by urgency and resolve, even before external support,” she said. “We’ve reduced new HIV infections from 100,000 in 2004 to 37,000 in 2024, and dropped AIDS-related deaths from 87,000 to 20,000.”
Other gains include a dramatic decline in babies born with HIV—from 19,700 in 2010 to 4,700 last year—as well as a sixfold increase in people accessing antiretroviral treatment, now reaching over 1.2 million Ugandans.
Minister of Health Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng called attention to the remaining gaps and emphasized the need for innovation and sustained partnerships.
“Despite the strides, hepatitis B interventions have lagged,” she said. “Africa accounts for 65 million chronic hepatitis B cases and 63% of new global infections. In Uganda alone, 4.1% of adults and 0.6% of children have hepatitis B.”
Dr. Aceng also noted a worrying trend in syphilis infections, with 8 million adults affected globally and 230,000 deaths—most of them in Africa.
“Only Botswana and Namibia are on track to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of syphilis,” she added.
Alupo called for scaling up local vaccine and medicine manufacturing, African-led research, and domestic financing for community-based healthcare.
“We must not reverse the gains we have fought so hard to achieve. This conference must be more than reflection—it must be a call to action,” she said.
The 2025 conference is supported by global partners including UNICEF, PEPFAR, UNAIDS, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and Clinton Health Access Initiative, with sponsors like Abbott and Standard Q Biosensor.
Uganda, which launched its triple elimination plan in 2019, has emerged as a frontrunner in this fight.
“Together, we can eliminate vertical transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B. We must, we can, and we will,” Alupo concluded.