Approximately 370,000 babies are born with HIV every year and most reside in sub-Saharan Africa. Without treatment, more than half of these children will die before the age of 2. Another prominent cause of infant mortality is untreated maternal syphilis, which still accounts for more than 500,000 stillbirths and infant deaths annually despite the fact that these deaths could be prevented through routine detection and treatment of syphilis during antenatal care.

CDC is a leader in the global efforts to significantly reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis by supporting several countries to implement interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. CDC has identified mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis globally as a Winnable Battle.

Public Health Foundation (PHF) offers resources that public health and other professionals can use to help reduce the rates HIV and syphilis globally. Courses on TRAIN such as Global Health Histories Seminar 51: Health Systems and Health Promotion, HIV/AIDS Professional Education in KY…Making it Count, and Preventing Transmission of Infections can provide additional information about HIV and syphilis transmission. For more resources on this subject, visit PHF’s Learning Resource Center to find high quality training materials, and use the Public Health Improvement Resource Center for online tools.

Please visit the CDC’s Winnable Battles Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis Globally website for more information.

For evidence-based findings and recommendations from the Task Force on Community Preventive Services pertaining to Food Safety, please visit the Community Guide's website.