‘MTCT account for new HIV infections in Nigeria’

New cases of Mother-To-Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV continue to increase in Nigeria despite diverse scale up interventions programme to reduce the disease.  The 2015 annual report on HIV/AIDS health sector response in Nigeria stated that, MTCT account for over 90 percent of new HIV infections among children with 380,000 children less than 15 years […]

New cases of Mother-To-Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV continue to increase in Nigeria despite diverse scale up interventions programme to reduce the disease. 

The 2015 annual report on HIV/AIDS health sector response in Nigeria stated that, MTCT account for over 90 percent of new HIV infections among children with 380,000 children less than 15 years living with HIV. It said that in the absence of any interventions, transmission rate ranges from 15 percent to 45 percent.

The report also stated that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) place heightened emphasis on Prevention Mother-To-Child (PMTCT) of HIV in the context of better health for mothers and their children.

The National Coordinator of National AIDS and STI Control Programme, Federal Ministry of Health (NASCP-FMoH), Dr Sunday Aboje said Nigeria currently has the second highest burden of HIV globally and the highest burden of pediatric HIV cases in the‎ world.

He stated this while speaking during a three-day workshop with Journalists Alliance for PMTCT of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, (JAPiN) supported by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in Calabar, Cross River State. 

Aboje who was represented by the‎ Assistant Chief Scientific Officer of ‎the agency, Mr. Taiwo Olakunle said Nigeria was committed to eradicating MTCT and also new HIV infections among babies as well as keeping mothers alive by 2020.

He said, Nigeria contributes about one third of new HIV infections among children in the 21 HIV priority countries in sub-Saharan Africa adding that Nigeria has the highest number of children acquiring HIV infection with nearly 60,000 in 2012, a number that has remained largely unchanged since 2009.

He added that the Elimination of Mother-To- Child Transmission (e-MTCT) Operational Plan 2017-2018 was developed by stakeholders in the national PMTCT response, with the aim of ensuring that 80 percent of adolescents and young people have access to prevention interventions, 36 percent of all HIV positive women have access to contraceptive, 75 percent of all pregnant women receive quality HIV testing, counseling and receive their results.

The Global information and education on HIV and AIDS revealed that despite the significant progress in 2015, 23% of pregnant women living with HIV do not have access to ARVs and 150,000 children (400 children a day) became infected with HIV.

MTCT is the most common way that children become infected with HIV. Women with HIV receive HIV medicine during pregnancy and childbirth and, in certain situations, have a scheduled cesarean delivery (sometimes called a C-section).

With the launch of the Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free  framework embraces the aspiration that every child should be born and remain HIV-free (start free), every adolescent and young woman should be able to protect themselves from HIV (stay free) and every child and adolescent living with HIV should have access to quality HIV treatment, care and support (AIDS-free).

The Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free includes the targets endorsed in the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS of 95% of pregnant and breastfeeding women accessing antiretroviral medicines, reducing new HIV infections among children to 40 000 and 1.8 million children living with HIV accessing HIV treatment by 2018. 

It also aims to reduce new HIV infections among adolescents to under 100 000 and for 1.5 million adolescents to be on HIV treatment by 2020.

Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free promotes concerted and coordinated country-led action designed to close the remaining HIV prevention and treatment gap for children, adolescent women and expectant mothers. 

Its success will depend on tailor-made acceleration and implementation plans to respond to the country context, building on successful strategies to strengthen systems where necessary and identifying critical opportunities and actions to expand access to life-saving HIV treatment and prevention services. 

To support implementation, the framework also calls on industry, civil society and international partners to focus on investing in efficient and cost-effective solutions that maximize programme outcomes.