To win the fight against mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), the United States Centre for Diseases Control (U.S CDC) has urged pregnant women on regular medical check-ups.
The centre gave the advice at a roundtable on the importance of the congregational approach to the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, which is also known as the Baby Shower Programme, held in Abuja at the weekend.
Nigeria is among the countries with the slowest decline in new HIV infections among children, with an estimated 21,000 new child HIV infections in Nigeria in 2020, the highest in the world, accounting for 14 percent of the global estimate.
The deputy director programs, CDC Nigeria, Dr Jerry Gwamna, said the Baby Shower Programme was targeted at ensuring that women who couldn’t go to health facilities are reached through an instrument of faith-based institutions because most Nigerians are very religious.
The senior program specialist, PMTCT, US CDC, Dr Tim Efuntoye, said the aim of the programme was to save unborn children from HIV from their parents who are positive.
Dr Efuntoye said with the aid of the congregational approach adopted in mosques and churches, the programme was yielding positive results.
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