SPONSORED:Promoting Uptake of HCT and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services among pregnant women in Lagos State.

Promoting Uptake of HCT and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services among pregnant women in Lagos State.

Olayide Akanni

Over 24,000 persons comprising mainly pregnant women, women within the reproductive age bracket  have been reached with HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) Services as part of ongoing efforts in Lagos State aimed at reducing the transmission of HIV from pregnant women to their unborn children,

These are part of  activities  being implemented  in seven Local Government Areas    under the  Promoting Increased Uptake of HCT and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services among pregnant women in Lagos State, a  project  which commenced in June  2014 . 

The eighteen month long projectis being implemented byJournalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria in partnership with Positive Foundation for Health and Development (PFHD) with support from the World Bank through the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA) in   Alimosho, Ibeju –Lekki, Ojo, Ikorodu, Kosofe, Oshodi/Isolo and Somolu Local Government Areas and their corresponding Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

The project which aims to reach 113, 400 pregnant women with HCT service over 18 months involves providingmobile HIV Counselling and Testing Services and Peer Education services free of charge to Pregnant women and women of reproductive age attending Traditional Birth Attendant Clinics (TBAs), Faith based Attendant (FBAs) Clinics, Private health Care facilities and Primary Health Centres in the above mentioned 7 LGAs and corresponding LCDAs in Lagos State.As part of entry level activities, Community Sensitisations. Consultative Meetings and Advocacy Visits with key stakeholder groups in the various Local Governments as well as trainings for Counsellor Testers and Peer Educators were also held prior to actual project implementation. The project activities are also designed to ensure the achievement of the Minimum Package of Prevention Interventions (MPPI).

To prevent the transmission of HIV from a pregnant women to her unborn child and In order to prevent loss to follow up, the project also  engages the services of mentor mothers- women who are also HIV positive and have delivered HIV negative children; who follow up the HIV positive pregnant women and ensure that they are linked to and access the necessary treatment and care services in the  Government facilities where they are referred to .The mentor mothers also provide  counselling , psychosocial  as well as treatment  adherence support to the women who test HIV positive .

Since the project commenced about 94 HIVpositive pregnant women identified from the seven local Governments through the mobile HCT services have been successfully linked to care and no less than 20 women have successfully delivered.