Rivers State Nears HIV-Free Births with 95% Testing Success — Virology Institute

The Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) has announced that Rivers State has achieved over 95 percent HIV testing acceptance among pregnant women between 2020 and 2023 under its Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme.

Project Director of the Rivers ASPIRE Project, Dr. Stanley Idakwo, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday, attributing the success to strong community engagement, effective counselling, and consistent mentorship.

According to data from the District Health Information System, HIV testing among pregnant women in the state has remained between 95 and 100 percent since 2020. Idakwo noted that the mentor-mother model and peer support networks were key factors driving the success, adding that about 98.6 percent of clients expressed satisfaction with PMTCT services.

Despite this progress, he said some challenges persist. Approximately 31.7 percent of women cited distance to health facilities as a major barrier, 20.1 percent mentioned transportation costs, and 16.5 percent complained about long waiting times.

IHVN, in collaboration with the Rivers State Ministry of Health, is addressing these issues by decentralising PMTCT services, improving case management, and integrating them with maternal and child health programmes. Task-sharing among healthcare workers and improved staff attitude have also encouraged more women to access antenatal care and follow-up treatment.

Idakwo added that while maternal and infant antiretroviral prophylaxis has significantly reduced transmission rates, follow-up services such as facility-based deliveries and ARV use during labour still require improvement.

To tackle this, the institute has trained more than 400 Traditional Birth Attendants across 319 wards under a hub-and-spoke service delivery model supported by PEPFAR-CDC and the Global Fund. These attendants are now linked to 115 healthcare facilities to strengthen collaboration.

“Our ultimate goal is to ensure that no child in Rivers State is born with HIV,” Idakwo said. “Every pregnant woman deserves access to quality, stigma-free healthcare regardless of location or social status.”

He reaffirmed that IHVN would continue to strengthen community partnerships and support Nigeria’s goal of eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission through sustained innovation and collaboration.