As part of efforts to reduce mother-to-child transmission and eliminate HIV/AIDS in the country, the Nigerian government is scaling up the implementation of early testing and treatment for exposed babies.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa, said the government will also provide high-quality treatment and care to children and adolescents living with HIV.
The Minister disclosed this at the inauguration of the Committee on Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) and Acceleration of Paediatric AIDS, organised by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), in Abuja on Thursday.
Mr. Alausa, also chair of the committee, said the new team will coordinate acceleration efforts by agencies and officials at all levels of government to reduce the spread of the disease, especially among children.
He said: “This will ensure that no child is born HIV positive and that those who are HIV positive receive quality care. We will also unlock value chains by collaborating with those willing to begin domestic production of HIV commodities, thereby ensuring the health security of our children.
“The committee will focus on closing the treatment gap for pregnant and lactating women living with HIV and optimizing treatment continuity to eliminate vertical transmission.”
The Minister said Nigeria is seeking to improve prevention and early detection of new HIV infections among pregnant and lactating women, while addressing social and structural barriers to accessing services.
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“While this initiative primarily addresses mother-to-child transmission of HIV and pediatric HIV, it will also improve our antenatal coverage, health outcomes for women of childbearing age, and under-5 mortality rates,” she said.
“HIV prevention coverage remains low”
Also speaking, NACA Director General Temitope Ilori said Nigeria faces a critical challenge in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
She said that despite the creation of a comprehensive national strategy, accompanied by a financial commitment, HIV transmission from child to mother and paediatric coverage remain critically low.
“Our epidemiological estimates indicate that by 2023 there will be 140,000 children under 14 years of age living with HIV, with 22,000 new infections and 15,000 AIDS-related deaths in children,” he said.
She said prevention of mother-to-child transmission and paediatric HIV coverage in Nigeria is 33 per cent lower, “far from the 95 per cent target”.
“As a family physician, I am eager to see that no child is born HIV positive in Nigeria, and as Director General of NACA, I know that together we can change this infamous narrative of Nigeria’s contribution to the global burden of PMTCT and paediatric HIV,” she added.
According to Nigeria's coordinator for the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Funmi Adesanya, significant progress must be made in Nigeria if the world is to achieve the global goal of eliminating the epidemic.
He called for greater collaboration between all levels of government and between public and private institutions, noting that all stakeholders must commit to ending the epidemic by 2030.
“No child in Nigeria should be born with HIV and the U.S. Government is committed to our partnership to ensure this is a reality. The time is now and we believe we have the right leadership represented in this room to achieve this goal,” he added.