12 babies born HIV-free by positive mothers in Anambra

No fewer than 12 babies have been born HIVfree from positive mothers in Awka, Anambra State.
The 12 mothers, who were delivered of the babies, registered and attended Ante-natal Health Care at Saint Faith Hospital and Maternity. The 100 per cent success was recorded by the hospital under its Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme.
Disclosing this, Alliance for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV in Nigeria (JAPiN),
Anambra State Chapter in Awka yesterday, the matron of the hospital, Mrs. Chisom Ezulike said that out of the 12 HIV positive pregnant mothers that enrolled into the hospital under PMTCT programme, none of their babies tested positive.
Mrs. Ezulike who attributed the feat to voluntary acceptance of the mothers, appealed to other mothers to access the programme for the safety of their babies. She, however, said that out of the 621 pregnant women tested for HIV by the hospital, about 50 of them were positive.
The matron noted that the PMTCT programme was activated in the hospital in April 2013, adding that it had recorded 60 per cent response.
Mrs. Ezulike who said that the PMTCT programme in the hospital was being sponsored by the Family Health International further explained: “What we meant by enroll is not that we are not getting positive pregnant mothers, but to push them to start taking Antiretroviral drugs because some of them even deny being positive.”
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