UNFPA, ECEWS integrate PMTCT, FP to boost HIV services

Zubaida Abubakar, the National Programme Analylist for Adolescent Sexual Reproductive  Health, under UNFPA who made this known at the weekend during a workshop for health workers from from Benue state noted that integrating services would save cost and guarantee better services to the community. “When you miss an opportunity to give services you tend to see […]

Zubaida Abubakar, the National Programme Analylist for Adolescent Sexual Reproductive  Health, under UNFPA who made this known at the weekend during a workshop for health workers from from Benue state noted that integrating services would save cost and guarantee better services to the community.
 “When you miss an opportunity to give services you tend to see recurrent cases, of women coming back pregnant and the pregnancy may not be wanted, so if you actually integrate the services, it means that if a pregnant woman comes into the FP unit she is also counseled by an HIV/AIDS expert, and if she is positive she can then be referred to the HIV/AIDS unit for services and she can delay her pregnancy until she is stronger and on ART and can finally do that, and this actually benefit the health of the woman, the child and the family,” she said.
Earlier the Executive Director of ECEWS, Andi Eyo said that the focus states were Benue, Kaduna, Cross River and Akwa Ibom, in term of really looking at achieving the total Nigeria programme which is basically scaling response.
“We would want to see a situation whereby HIV/AIDS positive mothers can make their own decisions because they are empowered,” he said.
Speaking on the chosen LGAs in Benue, Eyo said, “We looked at the focus of UNFPA and the prevalence in Vandakeiya and Taka LGAs in Benue, we used evidence to direct our actions, and the evidence in Benue has shown that if we go to these two LGAs we will be able to have the best yields for services and we will progressively follow the signs, as you know the signs lead to interventions”.
The Deputy Project director, and Director Clinical Services, Okezie Onyedinachi noted that resources were limited, and the best way to optimize them is to integrate services, in terms of maximizing the opportunities saying, “ so that you don’t run a parallel or vertical programme, programmes that are separate, when you put programmes together, you are able to build capacities of people so that they can multitask, and provide the same quality of services and also to reach out to more clients.”