160,000 Children Living With HIV – NACA

The director-general of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr Temitope Ilori, has said that prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and paediatric HIV coverage in the country remains below 33 per cent, well below the 95 per cent target.

Quoting the UNAIDS 2023 report, Dr Ilori said that about 160,000 children aged 0-14 were living with HIV in the country.

The DG stated this 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”, on Monday in Abuja.

World AIDS Day is observed on December 1 annually to create awareness about HIV and AIDS.

On HIV prevalence, the DG said that 1.4 people aged 15-64 years, with an estimated two million people living with HIV in the country.

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She also said that the country records 22,000 new HIV infections and 15,000 AIDS-related deaths every year.

“Nigeria has an HIV prevalence of 1.4 per cent among the general population, 15-64 years, with an estimated 2 million people living with HIV.

“The country continues to face a significant challenge in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The UNAIDS 2023 report shows that approximately 160,000 children aged 0-14 are living with HIV, with 22,000 new infections and 15,000 AIDS-related deaths occurring each year,” she explained.

However, Dr Ilori stated that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare recently established a national-level acceleration committee to track implementation.

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.

“This will go around the 36 States and FCT in due course,” she emphasised, expressing the agency’s commitment to the sustainability of the HIV response programme beyond donors’ support.

“My team has been engaging with all critical stakeholders in the HIV response in co-creating a sustainability roadmap that intends to sustain our gains within the HIV response and put government-mandated structures at the centre of programme implementation in the states.

“This roadmap, among other things, will ensure that in the event of donor support withdrawal, the country is secured health-wise and socially as regards HIV and associated diseases,” she said.