The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged the Kaduna State Government to commit more funds toward the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in the state.
The Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Kaduna, Dr Zakari Adam, made the appeal in Kaduna on Thursday during a one-day feedback meeting on the progress of PMTCT interventions in the state.
The meeting was in collaboration with the wife of the state governor, Hajiya Ummi El-Rufa’i, and chairmen of the 23 local government areas and their spouses.
According to him, the state government, with the support of partners, is close to achieving 90 per cent coverage of PMTCT and elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV.
He explained that the prevalence of HIV in the state dropped from 7.0 per cent in 2008 to 1.1 per cent in 2018.
He added that the PMTCT coverage equally rose from 10 per cent in 2013 to 72 per cent in 2018, stressing the need to scale up partners’ efforts.
He noted that increased funding was crucial to maintaining the momentum, adding that government must make more financial commitment to ensure the success of the programme.
He said “for us to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of the virus, rapid HIV test kits and other testing commodities should be provided by the government.
“This is because the current supply by partners is inadequate and dwindling and we are missing some pregnant women who require HIV test due to a shortage of test kits.
“Your excellency, we are at a crossroad and need your support for the government to urgently fill the gap by procuring additional test kits.
“Also, the demand creation structure equally needs to be sustained and scaled up in all the 23 local government areas of the state, as we are currently active in only 16 LGAs.”
Adam noted that the influence of the wife of the governor and the spouses of the LGA chairmen was immensely important to get this done.
He pointed out that the relevant government agencies responsible for implementing and coordinating the HIV response required funds to function and deliver on expected results.
He identified the agencies as; Kaduna State Aids Control Agency, State Primary Health Care Development Agency, and the state’s Ministry of Health.
The UNICEF official said that the agencies were currently facing financial constraints, saying “we need your support, your excellency, to make more operational funds available to them.
“Our council chairmen and their spouses need to also understand that their role is critical in driving the demand creation, supervision and implementation of activities for PMTCT at community levels.
“You are also expected to, among other efforts, support Local Government Action Committees on AIDS and fund the implementation of the LGA plans for PMTCT.”
Responding, the governor’s wife promised to solicit support from the governor to make funds available for procurement of additional HIV test kits in the state.
She said “I am more than ever, convinced that this is the time for scaling up our efforts and support, not scaling down.
“We can’t afford to drop the ball now when we are about to make history.
“Every pregnant woman in Kaduna State must know her HIV status if we are to reach the elimination target by 2020.”
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