24th July 2025
EACH day in 2024, approximately 712 children worldwide acquired HIV, and nearly 250 died from AIDS-related causes, largely due to limited access to prevention and treatment services. Tragically, children in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, are among these victims.
Therefore, Nigeria, home to roughly 1.9 million people living with HIV and ranking fourth globally in HIV burden, faces its most critical challenge in the fight against the epidemic: mother-to-child transmission.
While global efforts have led to a 62 per cent drop in new HIV infections among children aged zero to 14 since 2010, Nigeria’s situation remains dire.
The country’s final MTCT rate remains alarmingly high at 25 per cent—15 per cent at six weeks and an additional 10 per cent during breastfeeding. This starkly contrasts with the WHO’s elimination target of below 5.0 per cent, placing Nigeria among the countries still lagging far behind.
Consequently, nearly 22,000 infants are born with HIV in Nigeria annually, representing about one in every seven global cases, according to UNAIDS.
The fallout extends beyond health. Children orphaned by AIDS face increased risks of poverty, abuse, and interrupted education.
Importantly, the responsibility does not lie with mothers alone but with systemic failures. Less than half of pregnant women access routine antenatal HIV testing; only 67 per cent make at least one antenatal visit; adherence to antiretroviral therapy (Option B+) is worryingly low, with just around 33 per cent reporting full compliance.
Nigeria once had a clear path toward eliminating MTCT. The launch of the Global Plan in 2011, the adoption of Option B+ in 2016, and the re-establishment of PMTCT programmes in 2018, including the appointment of former First Lady Aisha Buhari as Special Ambassador, demonstrated strong ambition.
Yet, ambition has not translated into impact. Since 2010, Nigeria has reduced MTCT by only 15 per cent, compared with 70 per cent reductions in South Africa and Uganda. Meanwhile, seven other sub-Saharan countries have managed to halve childhood HIV infection rates.
The country’s health infrastructure struggles under chronic underfunding and a shortage of human resources, which create barriers to universal antenatal screening, consistent antiretroviral supply, and seamless mother–infant tracking systems. Universal health coverage remains far off.
For many governments, health issues rank low because the elite often seek treatment overseas despite the high costs.
During President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure (2015–2023), Nigerians spent an average of $3.6 billion annually on medical tourism. India, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other European countries have benefited from Nigeria’s healthcare failings at home.
Medical professionals continue to emigrate in large numbers to Europe, the Middle East, and the US in search of better opportunities.
To reverse this crisis, Nigeria must urgently scale up antenatal HIV testing and ensure 100 per cent antiretroviral therapy coverage for HIV-positive mothers through integrated, community-based outreach.
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