By Ojoma Akor
The federal ministry of health and social welfare, and other stakeholders in the health sector have pledged their commitment towards the
the elimination of pediatric HIV and the optimization of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) services in Nigeria.
They made the commitment Tuesday in Abuja during the national HIV health sector symposium . It was organized by the National AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and STIs Control Programme (NASCP) of the federal ministry of health and social welfare,b
with the theme “Advancing PMTCT and Pediatric Treatment Coverage in Nigeria”.
Minister of state for health and social welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako said the country’s PMTCT programme was recording some significant progress with more pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS accessing antiretroviral (ART than ever before .
He said national PMTCT coverage and early infant diagnosis has improved to 66% and 57% respectively as at 2024.
He said the pediatric ART coverage improved from 29% to 74% in 2024, adding that despite the progress, “the statistics constantly remind us that our work is far from over. ”
He said, “Nigeria, unfortunately, still remains one of the countries with the highest burden of pediatric HIV contributing over 9, 000 new child infections annually. This is a clear call to action, to collaborate, and to accelerate our efforts to close the existing gaps in PMTCT and Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) coverage.”
He highlighted that the symposium offered an invaluable platform to review, reflect on, develop, and harmonize strategies that would help intensify efforts in identifying and treating pediatric HIV cases.
He said, “It is truly a moment to reaffirm our dedication to ensuring that no child is left behind in our ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS. As we know, the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is a key component of Nigeria’s efforts to control and eventually eliminate HIV/AIDS in the country.
“Our goals are therefore quite clear and commitment is irrevocable:
We must ensure that every pregnant woman living with HIV has access to care, including timely antiretroviral therapy. This is our fundamental commitment to preventing transmission to her child. ”
The minister said it was imperative to intensify efforts in identifying children already living with HIV and ensuring they promptly receive the antiretroviral therapy that can save their lives.
“We must ensure universal access to HIV services and finally, increase domestic funding for HIV/AIDS programme. I want to assure all Nigerians living HIV/AIDS, our partners and the global health community that Nigeria is committed to sustainable funding for our HIV/AIDS programme,” he stated.
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He added that Nigeria is employing a multi-pronged approach to control HIV/AIDS, focusing on prevention, treatment and care including the prevention of mother to child transmission, voluntary medical male circumcision, social and behavioral change communication, access to pre and post exposure prophylaxis.
He said, ” We are promoting correct and consistent use of condoms, addressing stigma and discrimination, and providing free antiretroviral treatment for about 1.7 million Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS. In the last 2 years, Nigeria is witnessing a consistent drop in new HIV infections and also in the burden of mother to child transmission. Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, we are determined and we are walking the talk to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.”
He enjoined the participants to harness the opportunity to forge stronger partnerships, share best practices, and develop innovative solutions that would truly bring the country closer to an AIDS-free generation.
The First Lady , Senator Oluremi Tinubu,
said many babies born with HIV-positive mothers were not tested early enough, mostly because their mothers were unaware and uninformed about the risk.
She stated that the goal should be to ensure that no child is born with HIV and no mother is left behind in accessing treatment.
Represented by the Minister of Women Affairs , Hajiya Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim,
the first lady said Nigeria has made commendable progress as more women are getting tested during pregnancy and are accessing treatment, but that major gaps still remain.
She said, ” One in every five children born with HIV globally is a Nigerian. As a nation, we must rise up to this challenge and also key into the vision of the Redeemable Agenda of Mr. President, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu , which focuses on health as an essential pillar of development.”
While saying that it is important to make HIV testing and treatment available in every country, she said there was need to provide early testing for all exposed infants, and also support mothers to stay in treatment without stigma.
She also said that the country must fully implement the triple elimination strategy for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis.
She added that with concerted efforts from all stakeholders and leaders, the country could turn the tide.
“We can end modern child transmission even before 2030, and give our children the future they deserve,” she said.
The National Coordinator of NASCP, Dr Adebobola Bashorun said the theme of the symposium was inspired by reports that Nigeria was not doing well in the past.
He said, ” So this symposium is to show where we are and to have our own narrative. It is basically to share what government has done in the last two years, and also what partners are doing to support us. ”
He called on stakeholders to look at the gaps that were still remaining and put in more efforts towards closing them.
He said , “in terms of results ,this administration has doubled the previous results. So if we were recording 50% before, we are now close to 90% and that remaining 10% is still a focus for us to work on and get 100%. In the past, we have treatment for children at 29% now it is 74% coverage. So the gap is 26%, far lower than how it was. Before PMTCT coverage was 34% now it is 67% , the remaining gap is what will make it 100%.
“Before we had about 2.9 million women reporting tested for HIV and hepatitis . Now, we have 5.6 million tested for HIV and hepatitis.So the gaps are getting smaller with more efforts that the government and its partners are putting into the system.”
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The director general of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS( NACA), Dr Temitope Ilori, said there was need to ensure sustainability of ownership in the country.
She said that there was need for the country to reduce reliance on external donors, and rather develop necessary framework, and roadmap, in other to reach every nook and cranny of the country, using the different tiers of government.
She said, ” so that the federal government, states and local government works hand in hand to ensure that no child is born with HIV; find all the pregnant women, test them and to put those that are positive on treatment, and retain them on treatment to ensure that we stop the progression of HIV in the community, and prevent HIV from being a public health threat.”
Dr Modupe Elendu, a health officer with UNICEF, said it was time to go beyond routine services.
She said, “It is time for us to work more with less resources that we are having right now. It is also a good time for us to continue to share ideas and collaborate with the government.”
Highlights of the event was the launch of policy documents on hepatitis, HIV and syphilis treatment and management, and on monitoring and evaluation.
