Nigeria has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS-positive births worldwide, according to Dr. Temitope Ilori, Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS. Dr. Ilori stressed that the organization is dedicated to putting an end to the AIDS epidemic by 2030 during her Monday visit to the Oyo State Ministry of Health, the Oyo State Agency for the Control of AIDS, and the University College Hospital in Ibadan. She emphasized that in order to accomplish this, teamwork is required.
“In the area of prevention of Mother-to-child Transmission of HIV, it’s unfortunate that Nigeria still has the highest burden of children born with HIV/AIDS, and therefore, this is a key priority area where we want to work assiduously to ensure that our mothers, our women, are educated and informed that they should visit health centres.
“When they’re pregnant, they should book in health centres where they have trained personnel to take the delivery because most of the transmission takes place perinatally.
“So, we are going to increase our advocacy, increase our sensitisation, increase our awareness on this to ensure that women seek help, book in the centres, and they have skilled birth attendants, and they have access to medication, because if they have access to medications, they will have a low viral load, or they will be virally suppressed, and will eliminate transmission to their unborn children.
“I’m happy that you are already engaging the traditional birth attendants at the state level because they play a major role. So, we’re going to reach out not only to the health workers, but even also to our mission homes, our religious leaders, our traditional leaders, and the birth attendants.”
Dr Ilori urged Nigerians to work towards to come on board to stem the tide of HIV and meet the target of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Moreover, to fortify Nigeria’s healthcare system and increase its ability to effectively combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic, consistent investment in healthcare facilities, human resources, and research is needed. Dr. Ilori’s reaffirmation of NACA’s commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 is a ray of hope, even though the road ahead may be difficult. Nigeria can achieve this ambitious objective and guarantee a better future for future generations by bringing together stakeholders, mobilizing resources, and putting evidence-based initiatives into practice.
The fact that Nigeria is the nation with the highest rate of HIV/AIDS-affected births highlights the critical need for coordinated action to address this public health emergency. Nigeria can lessen the effects of HIV/AIDS, increase access to high-quality healthcare, and clear the path for a healthier and more prosperous future for all of its population by working together and implementing focused measures.
