By Afolabi Samuel Odunayo
In a decisive move to combat HIV & AIDS, the Federal Government has inaugurated a Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) and Paediatric HIV Scale-Up Acceleration Plan Committee at the national level.
The committee was launched by Dr. Tunji Alausa, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, at the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) headquarters in Abuja.
Dr. Alausa emphasized that the multi-sectoral committee, comprising technocrats and bureaucrats, is tasked with ensuring effective delivery on the mandate and tracking implementation along the federal four pillars of the plan, in line with global best practices.
Dr. Temitope Ilori, Director General of NACA, stated that the committee’s oversight of the PMTCT and Paediatric HIV programme aligns with the three-one principle: one coordinating agency, one strategic framework, and one monitoring and evaluation system.
“Nigeria is grappling with a significant public health crisis: the alarming rate of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and inadequate care for children living with HIV,” Dr. Ilori said.
According to UNAIDS data from 2021, an estimated 170,000 children under 14 are living with HIV in Nigeria, with 26,000 new infections and 17,000 AIDS-related deaths annually.
The data also stipulated that current PMTCT and pediatric HIV coverage is less than 35 percent, far below the 95 percent target.
Recall that in 2021, national and state-level data analysis led to the development of Nigeria’s Global Alliance to End AIDS in Children Action Plan, designed to scale up PMTCT efforts and address gaps in paediatric HIV coverage.
Report therefore says that despite this strategy and significant financial commitments, the coverage remains critically low.
Dr. Ilori expressed hope that no child would be born HIV positive in Nigeria, emphasizing the collective effort needed to change the country’s contribution to the global burden of PMTCT and paediatric HIV.
PEPFAR Coordinator Funmi Adesanya highlighted the U.S. Government’s support, noting an investment of $8.3 billion over 21 years through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to eliminate HIV as a public health threat by 2030 in Nigeria.
She stressed that no child in Nigeria should be born with HIV and reaffirmed the U.S. Government’s commitment to this goal, praising the Nigerian Government’s leadership in addressing this urgent issue.
