By KT Reporter
Scientists attending the world’s first international conference on the triple elimination of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B have raised alarm over the continued neglect of syphilis prevention and control efforts, despite the infection’s growing burden across the African continent.
Speaking at the ongoing conference in Kampala, Uganda’s Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, said that while HIV and syphilis are transmitted through similar routes, public health messaging rarely emphasizes the dangers of syphilis. She noted that more than one million Ugandans are currently affected by the sexually transmitted infection, with prevalence estimated at 2.1 percent.
Dr Aceng emphasized the need to integrate testing and treatment services for all infections. She revealed that only Botswana and Namibia are currently on track to eliminate vertical transmission of syphilis—from mother to child—while countries like Uganda continue to struggle with consistent testing of pregnant women and their exposed babies at birth.
In contrast, similar HIV programmes are widely implemented in maternal and child health clinics. She warned that dwindling donor support for health programmes is further complicating the situation.
Aceng made her remarks after delegates at the conference raised concern that, although Uganda has a syphilis screening policy for pregnant women, its implementation remains weak. As a result, many infected mothers do not receive timely treatment, putting their health and that of their unborn children at risk. Earlier, Dr Robert Mutamba, head of the AIDS Control Programme at the Ministry of Health, explained to journalists that early diagnosis of syphilis in expectant mothers is key to preventing congenital infections.
He warned that babies born with syphilis often suffer severe complications, describing their condition as “very vegetative” and often beyond medical help. Globally, eight million adults live with syphilis, the majority of them in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Of these, about 700,000 are congenital cases—infants infected by their mothers during pregnancy. Dr Aceng stressed that defeating such infections will require regional cooperation, particularly in manufacturing essential supplies like diagnostic test kits and conducting research, to take advantage of economies of scale.
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