Hope as 37 HIV-exposed infants test negative in Kigoma
KIGOMA: A TOTAL of 37 infants born between October 2024 and June 2025 to HIV-positive mothers receiving care at the Care and Treatment Centre (CTC) at Kiganamo Health Centre in Kasulu Town Council, Kigoma Region have all tested negative for HIV.
This marked a 100 per cent success rate in Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV.
The infants were tested between six and eight weeks after birth, and the results reflect the effectiveness of PMTCT services under the Afya Hatua project, implemented by Tanzania Health Promotion Support (THPS) in collaboration with the government and funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
THPS Regional Manager for Kigoma, Dr Geofrey Tarimo revealed the news to journalists over the weekend in Kasulu, noting that this achievement is one of the major successes of the Afya Hatua project, which is being implemented in all nine councils of the region.
“PMTCT aims to prevent HIV transmission from HIVpositive mothers to their babies during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. All pregnant women attending Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) clinics are tested for HIV during their first visit. Those who test positive are immediately enrolled on antiretroviral therapy (ARVs) to prevent transmission,” Dr Tarimo explained.
He thanked the government for its enabling policies that support the delivery of life-saving health services across the region. At Kiganamo Health Centre, Leticia Joseph, one of the beneficiaries, told her story.
Diagnosed with HIV in 2015, she had previously lost two children to the disease. Today, she is a proud mother of a six-monthold HIV-negative baby.
“I had lost hope, but that changed when I started receiving care at this centre. My baby was born healthy and HIV-free because of the quality services I received,” Leticia said.
Rosemary Josephat, the incharge of the Kiganamo Health Centre CTC, noted that the facility was established in December 2012 and currently serves 616 clients, including 163 men and 463 women, of whom 18 are pregnant and 76 are breastfeeding mothers.
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Kigoma Regional Coordinator for HIV/AIDS, STIs and Hepatitis, Dr Hosea William said that Kigoma has the lowest HIV prevalence rate in Tanzania at 1.7 per cent, according to the 2022–2023 Tanzania HIV Impact Survey, down from 2.9 per cent in the 2016–2017 survey.
“We are working closely with THPS in implementing HIV prevention, care and treatment services through regional and council health management teams (R/CHMTs). Currently, 283 health centres in the region provide PMTCT services and 94 Care and Treatment Centres (CTCs) operate in Kigoma, 74 of which are directly supported by the Afya Hatua project,” Dr William said.
From July 17–24 this year, a total of 330 healthcare workers from THPS-supported and government-run CTCs received training in PMTCT as part of ongoing efforts to improve service quality and efficiency.
HIV services in Kigoma are delivered both at health facilities and through community outreach programmes.
Afya Hatua is a five-year initiative launched in 2021, implemented across four regions, Kigoma, Coast, Tanga and Shinyanga, with the goal of improving HIV prevention, care and treatment services.
