COLOMBO, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has officially recognized Sri Lanka's elimination of mother to child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV and syphillis, local media quoted Health Ministry officials as saying on Thursday.

WHO officially granted Sri Lanka EMTCT status based on a decision by its Global Validation Committee in Geneva. Following requests from Sri Lanka's Ministry of Health, a team of experts from the South-East Asian Regional Office of WHO came to Sri Lanka in mid-September to assess the country's EMTCT status and submitted a report to the Global Validation Committee.

According to healthcare officials, over 95 percent of pregnant women were tested for HIV and syphillis by the end of 2017. All pregnant women diagnosed with HIV or syphilis received EMTCT services and delivered uninfected children. Sri Lanka had reached the target to make it eligible for the validation of EMTCT by the end of 2018.

Being the third country in the Asia-Pacific Region to receive EMTCT status from the WHO, Sri Lanka has the lowest infant mortality rate in South Asia and has previously eliminated polio, malaria and measles.