By Justina Auta
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nigeria has developed a community-based radio programme, “Mentor Mothers,” to promote Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV.
The programme is to also improve maternal health, targeting reduction of pediatric infections nationwide effectively.
Mr Steve Aborisade, Senior Advocacy and Marketing Manager, AHF Nigeria, disclosed this during a focused discussion with PMTCT coordinators, mentor mothers and traditional birth attendants on Tuesday in Abuja.
Aborisade said the programme would air weekly on ASO Radio to address awareness gaps and improve access to prevention services, particularly at community level, while showcasing progress recorded in PMTCT interventions.
He emphasised that mother-to-child transmission of HIV remained a significant challenge in Nigeria, largely due to limited awareness among pregnant women about available prevention options and access to essential healthcare services.
“We realised that in Nigeria, one of the major gaps in HIV programming is pediatric HIV that is, transmission from mothers to their unborn children which remains quite prevalent, and we want to eliminate it,” he said.
He explained that the organisation was leveraging radio to reach wider audiences, especially women in underserved communities, with accurate information on prevention, treatment, and available maternal healthcare services.
According to him, the programme will run weekly for 13 weeks, forming a full quarter of targeted radio engagement aimed at improving awareness, behavioural change, and service uptake nationwide.
Aborisade said the initiative had already commenced in Benue State, where it recorded strong audience participation, with listeners actively calling in to ask questions and seek guidance.
“We are impressed with the response so far and hopeful that similar acceptance will be achieved in other locations,” he said.
He added that the campaign complemented ongoing community-based interventions, including engagement of mentor mothers and traditional birth attendants to raise awareness and strengthen support systems for pregnant women.
He explained that mentor mothers, women living with HIV who delivered HIV-negative babies, were deployed to educate, counsel, and support others within their communities through shared experiences and peer guidance.
Aborisade said the organisation convened stakeholders to deliberate on effective use of radio, identify key discussion topics, and develop strategies for engaging target audiences across diverse communities nationwide.
He expressed optimism that combining community outreach with mass media would improve awareness and uptake of PMTCT services, ultimately reducing new pediatric HIV infections and improving maternal health outcomes nationwide.
Omoseke Bamijoko, Nurse and PMTCT Focal Person for AHF Nigeria in the FCT, said adherence to medication enabled pregnant women living with HIV to give birth to HIV-negative children safely.
“In Nigeria, HIV testing is part of routine antenatal care. Once a pregnant woman tests positive, she is immediately enrolled in PMTCT services to prevent transmission to her child,” she said.
She identified low awareness and poor antenatal attendance as major barriers to service utilisation, in spite of availability of PMTCT services in primary healthcare centres across communities nationwide for pregnant women.
“Our goal is to expand information dissemination, increase awareness about prevention, and encourage women to access antenatal care and treatment services,” she said.
Malam Nuhu Aliyu, PMTCT Focal Person, FCT AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and STIs Control Programme (FASCP), said the initiative would expand awareness in underserved communities to support elimination targets for HIV, Hepatitis B and Syphilis.
“Let people begin to understand the benefit of being tested and even if they are positive, there is a way they can live positively, and then if they are negative, there are ways to protect themselves from the disease,” he said.
Mrs Stella Ebeh, Deputy Coordinator, Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (ASHWAN), emphasised the need for women empowerment and massive awareness campaigns to reduce prevalence of mother-to-child HIV transmission nationwide.
Hajiya Zainab Rabiu, a traditional birth attendant at Dankwa PHC, said the initiative would help educate pregnant women attending antenatal clinics on HIV screening and enrolment in PMTCT services when necessary.
Esther John, a mentor mother from Kuje community, said “there are people out there that feel that they can never be infected and even if they test positive will not go for treatment.
“So there is an urgent need for massive awareness creation especially amongst youths and pregnant women, as well as making available testing kits and antiretroviral drugs readily available,” she said.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru
