The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), has said that prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and paediatric HIV coverage in the country remains below 33 per cent, a far cry from the 95 per cent target.
Director-general of NACA, Dr Temitope Ilori, who stated this while quoting the UNAIDS 2023 report at a press conference ahead of World AIDS Day 2024, with the theme: “Take the Rights Path: Sustain HIV Response, Stop HIV among Children to End AIDS in Nigeria by 2030, said that about 160,000 children aged 0-14 were living with HIV in the country.
World AIDS Day is observed annually on December 1 to create awareness about HIV and AIDS.
Speaking on HIV prevalence, the DG stated that 1.4 people aged 15-64 years, with an estimated two million people living with HIV in the country.
She also said that the country records 22,000 new HIV infections and 15,000 AIDS-related deaths every year.
Ilori explained that the country continues to face a significant challenge in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, noting that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare recently established a national-level acceleration committee to track implementation of policies to address the bane.
She said that NACA has inaugurated State committees in three states engaging directly with three governors to support the launch and resourcing of a similar committee at the state level, aimed at ensuring that no child is born HIV positive in the country.
The NACA boss emphasised that the initiative will go around the 36 States and FCT in due course, expressing the agency’s commitment to the sustainability of the HIV response programme beyond donors’ support.