In December 2025, Panama launched the Plan for the Integration of HIV Care Services within the framework of the regional Disease Elimination initiative, with the aim of eliminating perinatal HIV transmission by 2028 and transmission through other modes by 2032.

Throughout the biennium, PAHO provided continuous technical advisory support to the Ministry of Health, the Social Security Fund, and other key stakeholders in the preparation, development, and launch of the plan. The plan is structured around five strategic areas – prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research, and the reduction of stigma and discrimination – and promotes service integration to deliver an accessible, continuous, and effective response with quality standards. Technical cooperation included workshops, working sessions, and technical meetings focused on eliminating vertical transmission, informed by analyses of gaps, existing capacities, and related determinants.

This achievement strengthens the national HIV response through an integrated systems approach, contributes to the reduction of new infections, and consolidates enabling conditions for advancing toward the elimination of HIV as a public health problem.

Photo caption: Knowledge dialogue for HIV elimination 

Credit: PAHO