By Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
As part of its determination to curb the scourge of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the state, the Bauchi State Government has established 323 Prevention of Mother to Child (PMTC) HIV centres across the state.
The Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tubaerculosis, Leprosy and Malaria (BACATMA), Dr Mansur Dada, disclosed this on Tuesdayin Bauchi when he received members of the Advocacy Knowledge Management Committee (AKMC) of the state Accountability Mechanism for Maternal and Newborn Health (BASAM) who visited him.
Dada said the establishment of the PMTC centres in all the wards across the state was to ensure that all pregnant mothers that were HIV positive receive adequate healthcare service.
According to him, “This is to prevent them from transmitting the virus to their babiesâ€, and explained that there were only 120 centres when this administration came into office in 2015.
“We have only 120 PMTC centres in the state which are inadequate to cater for our HIV pregnant mothers.So we have to expand it to 323 centres; which means we now have one centre in each ward across the state.”
“The state is committed to addressing the five diseases of malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy and HIV/AIDS for a healthy society,†he said, adding that the agency had trained more than 700 health workers on PMTC.
He said: “We now have two health personnel in each PMTC centre. We have been providing them with anti-retroviral drugs and other commodities to ensure they live a healthy life.
“With this intervention, we are sure of seeing changes during pregnancy and after delivery among the pregnant women that are HIV positive.â€
Earlier, the Chairman of BASAM, Isa Ladan, called on BACATMA to make data available on the number of HIV positive pregnant women in the state.
Ladan said: “And to ensure that the HIV pregnant women receive anti-retroviral drugs’’ he enjoined the management to ensure adequate distribution of Long Lasting Insecticide Net (LLINS) to mothers and babies.
The BASAM chairman also called on the agency to ensure that malaria was reduced to the barest minimum in the state, especially among mothers and new born babies to reduce maternal and newborn mortality.
