Prince Iteshi Andrew Chibueze, who is the executive secretary of the agency, said the essence is to involve the community leaders to disseminate the campaign to further increase prevention from mother to child, following the 2024 theme for commemoration of HIV and AIDS.
"We expect to have an increase in awareness campaigns in our communities, to engage other community leaders to spread the campaign, and as well increase prevention from mother to child, because this year's theme centers on prevention amongst children.
"When there is proper testing in the community and among pregnant women, the virus will be early detected, and necessary measures will be taken to ensure that both the mother and child are free from the virus." He said.
Prince Iteshi disclosed that the agency has equally trained traditional birth attendants on both counseling and HIV services within the rural areas, as well as engaged community-based organizations specifically for testing of pregnant women in the communities, saying that over 17,000 clients have tested positive and are being placed on medication.
Lending her voice, Dr. Nwobashi Lilian Ndidi Amaka, who is the president of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi State chapter, said her organization goes to the nooks and crannies of the state for health outreach, screening, and providing care for mothers and children.
"Each of those outreaches we do, we encounter a patient, we refer them appropriately, and do follow-up to ensure that these people access care and they adhere to their medication," she said.
Also speaking, Dr. Otubo Sunday Augustine, the consultant pediatrician in the infectious disease unit of the Alex Ekweme Federal Teaching Hospital, said exposed babies (that is, children of infected mothers) are being followed up for eighteen months to monitor their status and provide possible medication.
"Most of them, over 95%, come out to be zero negative due to our interventions; their mothers will be on highly reactive antiviral drugs, while the children will be exclusively breastfed. We monitor their feeding patterns, and if there's any problem we discover on time," he said.
Dr. Otubo urged mothers to prioritize antenatal checks and volunteer for screenings to enable early detection and treatment, saying that couples can be positive while their children are negative, due to active medical intervention, and noted that over 98% of cases have proven negative in the past eighteen months.
Part of the engagement included the award of the ambassador of war against HIV and AIDS to the traditional ruler of the Echara Unuphu community, His Royal Highness, Chief Eze Sunday Oketa, who pledged to continue sensitizing his people on the need to access proper testing and screening towards the achievement of the war against HIV and AIDS by 2030.
