Nigeria is now leading other countries in new infant HIV statistics, with about 70,000 children born annually acquiring HIV/AIDS through mother-to-child transmission, NE has learnt.
The Chairman of the National (Presidential) Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV Task Team, Prof. Atiene Sagay, said this in an interview with our correspondent during a meeting of the group in Abuja.
Sagay said, “Between 50,000 and 70,000 children acquire HIV every year in Nigeria starting from their mother and this is an extremely damaging report because Nigeria is now the leading country in terms of new infant HIV every year and nearly one third of new infections every year worldwide is occurring in Nigeria.
“This is not something that we want to continue and so we want to improve coverage of every facility that is providing antenatal care. That is what the group is working on with the Ministry of Health and President Goodluck Jonathan is bent on doing everything to make sure that this does not happen again.”
Sagay added that the agency was determined to ensure that babies don’t acquire HIV from their mothers. Government has put in place means by which this can be prevented,” he added.
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