HIV: AHF trains women of childbearing age to eliminate transmission to children
The NGO AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has trained HIV women of childbearing age, known as mentor mothers, in Nasarawa State to eliminate the transmission of the disease to children.
AHF State Nursing Coordinator Kristy Auner said the training was necessary given the 2020 National Guidelines for HIV Prevention, Treatment and Care, which showed an increase in children coming into contact with HIV.
“We are here to educate mothers as part of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). According to 2020 national guidelines, more than 22,000 children become infected with new infectious diseases every year. We all know that.
“And we know it is possible to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV towards the 2030 PMTCT elimination goal.
“PMTCT is a unique cascade, and one of its components is to mentor mothers who are HIV-positive and go through the process of having a child who becomes HIV-negative through treatment.
“So they turn out to have children who are negative, and some of their spouses are also negative, but even if the parents are HIV positive, if they adhere to the medication, the child will be HIV negative.
And as they go through the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) process, they educate new mothers about the infection and how to actually take care of themselves and avoid passing the infection on to others. It will be easier to advise you on this. Their children,” she said.
According to her, similar training was conducted in Kogi, Benue and FCT where the program will tour other AHF program states in early 2024.
she said: “These women live in communities where they have easy access to other expectant mothers.
“We can easily encourage other women to attend antenatal care (ANC) to receive HIV testing services (HTS) and learn about their status, especially as testing availability for positive mothers Because rates and access to PMTCT services are actually low. Many reasons.”
AHF State Monitoring and Evaluation Assistant Director Caroline Ulamo added that the rate of HIV transmission from infected mothers to infants remains high, especially in rural areas.
“We still have provisions for people who live inland or in hard-to-reach areas.
She therefore emphasized the need for further health education, especially at the community level, and the need to involve mothers in leadership, communities and religious leaders to help eradicate the disease.
Mr Solomon Otene, ART nurse at AHF Nasarawa, said the exercise was to recruit new HIV-positive mothers to the mentorship program to reduce the prevalence of PMTCT.
“Stigma is still on the rise, so we need to engage with, counsel and encourage new users of ART services,” he said. Some of these new customers may have mixed reactions when you disclose their results.
“However, leading mothers trained as counselors can help reduce infections and increase access to ART by advising and sharing their personal experiences and how to protect their babies from infection. It’s helpful.”
The State Treasurer of Nigeria Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NEPWHAN), Lasson Ashley, encouraged participants to desist from self-stigma and advocate for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT).
Participant Joy John decried the hardships affecting HIV-positive children that could have been avoided if pregnant mothers had followed infection prevention instructions.
She added that the exercise increased her knowledge on advocacy to involve community members in eliminating mother-to-child transmission.
Source: guardian.ng