Radio campaign on preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission set for launch 

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nigeria has developed a community-based radio programme, "Mentor Mothers" aimed at Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and maternal health to curb pediatric infections across the country.

Steve Aborisade, Senior Advocacy and Marketing Manager, AHF Nigeria, stated this during a focused group discussion involving PMTCT coordinators, mentor mothers and Traditional Births Attendants ( TBAs) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Aborisade said the programme will be aired weekly on ASO radio to address gaps in awareness and access to prevention services, particularly at the community level, as well as the successes recorded in PMTCT.

He noted that mother-to-child transmission of HIV remained a significant challenge in Nigeria, largely due to limited knowledge about prevention options among pregnant women.

“We realised that in Nigeria, one of the major gaps in HIV programming is pediatric HIV that is, transmission from mothers to their unborn children which remains quite prevalent, and we want to eliminate it,” he said.

He explained that the organisation was leveraging radio to reach a wider audience, especially women in underserved communities, with accurate information on prevention and treatment.

According to him, the programme will run weekly for 13 weeks, forming a full quarter of targeted radio engagement.

Aborisade said the initiative had already commenced in Benue State, where it recorded strong audience participation, with listeners calling in to ask questions and seek guidance.

“We are impressed with the response so far and hopeful that similar acceptance will be achieved in other locations,” he said.

He added that the campaign complemented ongoing community-based interventions, including the engagement of mentor mothers and TBAs to raise awareness.

He explained that mentor mothers women living with HIV who had successfully delivered HIV-negative babies were being deployed to educate and support others within their communities.

Aborisade said the organisation had convened stakeholders to deliberate on effective use of radio, identify relevant discussion topics, and develop strategies for engaging target audiences.

He expressed optimism that combining community outreach with mass media would significantly improve awareness and uptake of PMTCT services, ultimately reducing new pediatric HIV infections in Nigeria. 

Omoseke Bamijoko, Nurse PMTCT Focal Person for AHF Nigeria, FCT, emphasised that with proper medication and adherence to prescribed steps under the PMTCT programme, pregnant women living with HIV could give birth to HIV-negative children.

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“In Nigeria, HIV testing is part of routine antenatal care. Once a pregnant woman tests positive, she is immediately enrolled in PMTCT services to prevent transmission to her child,” she said.

She, however, identified low awareness, poor antenatal care attendance, amongst others as major barrier to the utilisation of these services, despite their availability in primary healthcare centres nationwide.

“Our goal is to expand information dissemination, increase awareness about prevention, and encourage women to access antenatal care and treatment services,” she said.

Malam Nuhu Aliyu, PMTCT Focal Person, FCT AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and STIs Control Program (FASCP) said the initiative will create awareness in hard to reach and undeserved communities in meeting the target of eliminating HIV, Hepatitis B and Syphilis by 2030.

" Let people begin to understand the benefit of being tested and even if they are positive, there is a way they can live positively, and then if they are negative, there is there are ways to protect themselves from the disease," he said.

Mrs Stella Ebeh, Deputy Cordinator, FCT Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (ASHWAN), stressed the need for women empowerment and massive awareness creation to reduce prevalence of mother-to-child HIV transmission. 

Also, Hajiya Zainab Rabiu, TBA, Dankwa PHC, said the initiative will enable them educate women that come for antenatal on the need for HIV screening and PMTCT for those that tested positive.

Esther John, a mentor mother, Kuje community, said "there are people out there that feel that they can never be infected and even if they test positive will not go for treatment.

"So there is an urgent need for massive awareness creation especially amongst youths and pregnant women, as well as making available testing kits and antiretroviral drugs readily available," she said.