…Alausa inaugurates committee to drive process
By Sola Ogundipe
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.
“As a family physician, I long to see that no child is born HIV positive in Nigeria, and as the Director General of NACA, I know that together we can change this infamous narrative of Nigeria’s contribution to the global burden of PMTCT and paediatric HIV,” she remarked.
Also speaking, PEPFAR Coordinator, Funmi Adesanya observed that Nigeria had an estimated 170,000 children under 14 living with HIV in 2021, 26,000 new infections and 17,000 AIDS-related deaths in children, noting that PMTCT and paediatric HIV coverage remain low at less than 35 percent, far short of the 95 percent target.
“The US Government through the President’s Emergency plan for AIDS relief has invested $8.3 billion over the last 21 years to eliminate HIV as a public health threat by 2030 here in Nigeria.
These resources have been invested in health systems strengthening, health products including ARVs and rapid test kits, Human Resources and surge staff. We commend the leadership of the Government of Nigeria for your vision and convening us to address this urgent issue because it is an emergency.
“No child in Nigeria should be born with HIV and the U.S. Government is committed to our partnership to ensure that this is a reality. Now is the time and we believe we have the right leadership represented in this room to achieve this goal,” Adesanya asserted.
The First Lady of Kwara State and Chairperson of the Governors’ Spouses Forum, Prof. Olufolake Abdulrazak, said that the PMTCT/Pediatrics AIDS acceleration committee will scale up existing plans and achieve substantial progress in preventing mother to child transmission of HIV while ensuring care for children living with the disease.
Abdulrazak who is founder of Aijike People Support Center said, “The statistics surrounding mother-to-child transmission of HIV and pediatric AIDS in Nigeria from all accounts are alarming; hence the propriety of today’s event as it would no doubt bolster efforts and improve interventions in this regard.
“Also the strategies laid out in Nigeria’s Global Alliance to End AIDS in Children Action Plan are both necessary and timely, expanding Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission services, implementing targeted outreach programs and prioritizing testing for children are equally vital steps in the right direction.
“ The composition of this committee, I am convinced is borne out of expertise, experience and track records and as such I enjoin members to deploy their competences to ensure that the committee delivers on its mandate.
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