U.S. Department of State, Mission to Nigeria Spotlights Progress, Challenges in Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

Mission to Nigeria Spotlights Progress, Challenges in Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

Nigerian mother, a victim of AIDS, holds her HIV-free daughter, at the Abuja National Hospital in Abuja, Nigeria, July 12, 2003. [AP File Photo]

About the Author: Ambassador Eric Goosby serves as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.

Last year PEPFAR and UNAIDS joined with other partners to launch the Global Plan, an initiative to eliminate new HIV infections among children and keep their mothers alive. Last week I was proud to take part in a two-day mission to Nigeria with Michel Sidibe, UNAIDS Executive Director. (As I described in this post last week, our visit was interrupted by the tragic bombings.)

Each year, nearly 400,000 children are born with HIV globally, and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) is a particular challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, an area characterized by weak health systems. Incredibly, Nigeria alone bears about one-third…more »