By Francesca Hangeior

As Nigeria faces urgent challenge in ending Mother-to-Child HIV transmission, the Federal government has taken a decisive step in the fight against HIV & AIDS by inaugurating a Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) and Paediatric HIV Scale-Up Acceleration Plan Committee at the national level.

The move comes amid disturbing statistics revealing that an estimated 170,000 children under 14 are living with HIV in Nigeria.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa who inaugurated the committee at the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, headquarters in Abuja, said in line with global best practices, the multi- sectoral committee, comprising technocrats and bureaucrats, was inaugurated to ensure delivery on the mandate, tracking implementation along the federal four pillars of plan.

Alausa stated that the federal government is committed to ensuring that no child is born HIV positive and that those who are positive receive quality care, saying government will unlock value chains by collaborating with those willing †o commence domestic production of HIV commodities, ensuring health security.

“Through the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NAC A) and the National AIDS and STIs Control Programme (NASCP), we will provide effective governance for this programme. Working with all our partners and other departments within the ministry, we will faciIitate efficient, equitable, and quality healthcare for our children.

“This will ensure that no child is born HIV positive and that those who are positive receive quality care. We will also unlock value chains by collaborating with those willing to commence domestic production of HIV commodities, ensuring health security for our children.

“I have decided to provide personal leadership to this programme component. I will work closely with †he committee to review implementation and track data regularly, ensuring that we reverse the negative narrative of our contribution to the global burden of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

“Eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and ensuring care for all persons living with HIV, especially our children, aligns with the renewed hope agenda of Mr. President. As a country, this is a moral duty we owe to this generation.”

The four pillars of plan include early testing and optimized comprehensive, high-level treatment and care for infan†s, children, and adolescents living with HIV and children exposed to HIV; closing the treatment gap for pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV and optimizing continuity of treatment towards eliminating vertical transmission, preventing and detecting new HIV infections among pregnant and breastfeeding adolescents and women, among others.

In her remarks, the Director General of NACA, Dr Temitope Ilori, said the inauguration of the acceleration plan committee to provide oversight to the PMTCT and Paediatric HIV programme implementation is in line with the three-one principle of one coordinating agency, one strategic framework and one M&E 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. According to UNAIDS data from 2021, an estimated 170,000 children under 14 are living with HIV, with devastating consequences including 26,000 new infections and 17,000 AIDS-related deaths. The current PMTCT and pediatric HIV coverage stands at a concerningly low rate of less than 35 percent, falling far short of the 95 percent target.

“In 2021, national and state-level data analysis with consultations with states led to the development of Nigeria’s Global Alliance to End AIDS in Children Action Plan. This was designed to scale up PMTCT efforts and paediatric HIV addressing the coverage gaps.”

According to Ilori, despite this comprehensive strategy and accompanying financial commitment, the PMTCT and pediatric HIV coverage remains critically low.

Consequently, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare constituted this acceleration plan committee to drive the implementation of this crucial initiative in line with the sector-wide approach to health care in Nigeria.