The Federal Government may have perfected plans to carter for the wellbeing of about 56% of the estimated 17, 259 children suspected to be living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Benue state.
The National Coordinator of National AIDS/STIs Control Programme (NASCP-FMOH), Dr Sunday Aboje made this known on Saturday while delivering a paper titled "National AIDS/STIs Control Programme from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH)". In his presentation, Aboje stated that the Federal Government was fully committed to eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS by 2020, stressing that the move would assist in securing zero babies born with HIV/AIDS by 2020.
He listed strategies to be adopted to include “the adoption of the ‘Test and Treat all’ strategy, decentralization, task shifting and sharing and scaling up of Prevention of PMTCT services through revitalization and strengthening of the primary healthcare system.”
The National Coordinator also hinted that the Ministry of Health was working assiduously to ensure that 80% of adolescent and young people have access preventive medications while 36% women living with HIV have access to contraceptive.
He added that “75% of all pregnant women will receive quality HIV testing and counseling and receive their results, 60% of all HIV positive pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers will receive ARVs, while 50% of all HIV exposed infants will receive cotimoxazole (CTX) prophylaxis.
