As Nigeria marks Children’s Day 2025, the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Temitope Ilori, has sounded a warning over the continued birth of thousands of babies with HIV each year describing it as a preventable tragedy threatening the nation’s future.
In a statement commemorating the day, Ilori highlighted the urgent need to strengthen the country’s efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV. She emphasised that Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) services remain one of the most powerful tools for ensuring that no child is born with the virus.
“Children’s Day reminds us of our responsibility to safeguard the next generation,” she stated. “This includes ensuring every pregnant woman has access to early HIV testing and, if positive, is enrolled in treatment and continuous care throughout pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding.”
Despite progress in expanding HIV services for expectant mothers, Nigeria continues to rank among the countries with the highest number of children born with HIV. A 2023 UNICEF report paints a troubling picture: West and Central Africa, which includes Nigeria, accounts for 26% of all children living with HIV globally. The region also records four out of every ten new infections among children and adolescents worldwide.
In 2022 alone, an estimated 308 adolescents in the region contracted HIV each week, with girls comprising 90% of new infections among adolescents. The report also revealed that while 20% of the world’s HIV-positive pregnant women live in West and Central Africa, nearly half (48%) of them are not receiving treatment. Of the 400,000 children living with HIV in the region, only 37% are currently on life-saving antiretroviral therapy.
Dr. Ilori pointed to stigma as a major barrier preventing many women from seeking care, adding that the inability to fully eliminate mother-to-child transmission underscores the need for intensified public health efforts.
She urged all stakeholders to redouble their commitment to ending paediatric HIV and protecting the health of Nigerian children.
