The Institute of Human Virology Nigeria reports significant progress in Rivers State’s Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV, achieving more than 95 per cent HIV testing acceptance among pregnant women between 2020 and 2023.
Project Director of the Rivers ASPIRE Project at IHVN, Dr Stanley Idakwo, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday, noting that the achievement reflected years of strategic community engagement and consistent peer mentorship efforts.
Idakwo said data from the District Health Information System indicated that “HIV testing among pregnant women had remained between 95 and 100 per cent since 2020,” following intensive counselling and mentorship.
“This achievement is largely driven by effective counselling, strong peer support, and the mentor mother model that encourages adherence and emotional support.
model that encourages adherence and emotional support.
“About 98.6 per cent of clients also expressed satisfaction with PMTCT services,” he said.
However, Idakwo acknowledged that challenges remained.
“Around 31.7 per cent of women cite distance to facilities as a barrier, 20.1 per cent mention transportation costs, and 16.5 per cent report long waiting times,” he noted.
He explained that those challenges were being mitigated through task-sharing among healthcare workers, improved case management, and integration of PMTCT with broader maternal and child health services across the state.
He emphasised that although maternal and infant ARV prophylaxis had reduced HIV transmission, uptake of follow-up services like facility-based deliveries and antiretroviral use during labour still needed improvement.
Idakwo said continuous training for counsellors, expansion of PMTCT coverage to more primary healthcare centres, and enhanced safety for healthcare workers were key strategies for sustaining the recorded progress.
He added that the IHVN Rivers ASPIRE Project would continue strengthening community partnerships and supporting Nigeria’s goal of eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission through sustained innovation and collaboration.
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