HIV/AIDS: Ekiti govt to end mother-to-child transmission

The Ekiti State Government has restated its resolve to bring an end to mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS in the state through effective collaboration with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and other stakeholders in the health sector.

Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji made this known during a meeting with the Director-General of NACA, Dr Temitope Ilori, and her team at the governor’s office in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Monday, November 11, 2024.

Oyebanji said the development was to ensure that no child is born with the virus and to further reduce the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Ekiti State.

The governor said his government will be more intentional and strategic in its drive and intervention towards preventing and eliminating mother-to-child transmission as a way of bridging the infection gaps among newborns in the state.

He stated that the state government had always been committed to steps that have reduced the pandemic in the state.

Oyebanji said: “If you follow comments on Ekiti State, we have done a lot of things in that sector to ensure that we work in respect to their welfare and availability of health facilities and consumables across the state. We are actually punching beyond our weight in that sector.

“I am happy on the emphasis in reducing transmission from mother to child, it is very critical, yes, the prevalent rate may be low here, but the transmission from mother to child, we need to watch that.

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“Whatever we need to do, we will do, because, it is in our interest to keep our people healthy and also protect the unborn children from contracting this disease.”

Governor Oyebanji also promised to rejig and strengthen the Local Action Committee on AIDS (LACA) at the local government level in the drive to ensure that the grassroots is effectively combed, adding that state government will ensure the establishment of HIV Testing Services in the 16 local government areas as a gateway to HIV prevention, treatment, care and other support services.

Speaking, Ilori lamented the huge burden of children born with HIV/AIDS through transmission from mother to child and stressed the urgent need to end the menace of pediatric HIV in every part of Nigeria.

She said despite the huge resources committed to ending the HIV/ AIDS scourge over the years, the country is still lagging behind as it contributes about 25 per cent of the global population of children born with HIV.

Ilori also stressed the need to strengthen collaboration with the state government in order to further bring down the prevalence.

While lauding the Ekiti State Government for recording the least prevalence in Nigeria, the NACA boss called for the involvement of religious leaders, traditional rulers, and the traditional and new media to eradicate the scourge in the state.

Also at the meeting were the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Habibat Adubiaro; the Ekiti State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani; and officials of NACA and SACA.

The Star