Researchers from the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) have raised concerns that many pregnant women in Nigeria remain unaware of their HIV status. The institute explained that this is particularly the case in rural areas and private healthcare settings where antenatal HIV testing is not routinely conducted.
The Coordinator of NIMR’s Child and Adolescent HIV Programme, Dr. Agatha David, attributed the gap to late antenatal attendance, reliance on traditional birth attendants, and the absence of HIV testing in many healthcare facilities.
Despite these challenges, NIMR reported encouraging outcomes from its own prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme. According to the institute, no HIV-positive child has been delivered through the programme in more than six years, a success credited to early interventions and access to treatment.
Beyond pregnant women, NIMR also identified adolescents and young adults as priority groups. Many in this category have never been tested for HIV, while among those who test positive, poor adherence to treatment remains a major issue.
National data shows that only about 42.7% of pregnant women were tested for HIV in 2017, a modest increase from 32.8% in 2013. Among those who attended antenatal care, just 70.5% received HIV testing. Testing uptake was found to be higher among women aged above 24 years, those with more education, women living in urban areas, and those in higher income brackets.
A systematic review further estimated that 7.2% of pregnant women in Nigeria are living with HIV, with prevalence varying significantly across regions, ranging from around 6 to 17%. Awareness of HIV status is also uneven: only about 40% of HIV-positive mothers know their status, with rural areas lagging far behind urban settings.
Experts argue that this situation underscores the urgent need to expand HIV testing services, particularly in rural and underserved areas. They also recommend scaling up awareness campaigns to encourage early antenatal enrollment, increasing community-based interventions to tackle stigma, and replicating NIMR’s successful PMTCT strategies across other healthcare facilities.
Special attention, they add, should be given to adolescents and young adults, ensuring that barriers to testing and treatment adherence in this group are directly addressed.
