The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has inaugurated a committee focused on preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in Enugu State.
Speaking during the event on Wednesday in Enugu, NACA Director General, Dr Temitope Ilori, said the initiative is designed to strengthen the fight against HIV/AIDS by complementing the efforts of the state Ministry of Health and the Enugu State Agency for the Control of AIDS (ENSACA).
Ilori commended Governor Peter Mbah for his dedication to revamping primary healthcare facilities, which she said is crucial in ensuring no child is born with HIV in the state.
”We also want to ensure that pregnant women have access to HIV testing and treatment in general and teaching hospitals, and that lifesaving drugs are administered,” she said.
Ilori urged the newly inaugurated committee members to work in synergy, adding that HIV is a multi-sectional issue that requires all hands to be on deck.
Earlier, the Enugu State Commissioner for Health, Dr Ikechukwu Obi, said that the 20-man committee chaired by him would do their best to ensure that the objectives were met.
He said that committees are one of the instruments the ministry uses to deliver activities and as oversight to achieving objectives.
“The ministry also sets up technical groups in the committees to drive the process. The idea has been tested and trusted; this new committee will not be different, “he said.
Obi promised to ensure that PMCT and pediatric committees would function well in the state and achieve the set objectives for the benefit of the people.
In his remarks, the State Team Lead, Caritas Nigeria, Dr Fabian Bassey, commended the state government for its support, so far, in the health sector.
Bassey, however, said that more needed to be done in the treatment and care of pregnant women and children, hence, the PMCT committee.
He said that the state had successfully handled that of adults, but now the target should be children including the unborn child.
He said that Caritas Nigeria planned with the state government to train traditional birth attendants and ensure that they have access to test kits to get many pregnant women tested for HIV.
Also speaking, the Coordinator of Network of People Living with AIDS, Mrs Lilian Agbo, lauded the inauguration of the committee.
She said it would bring about a way forward, intervention and give people living with the virus hope to live again.
