The Oyo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (OYSACA) has advised pregnant women to register for ante-natal care and ensure they undergo HIV tests to determine their HIV status.
Chairman Gbola Adetunji gave the advice during a campaign to commemorate the 2024 World AIDS Day. He emphasized that Nigeria contributes significantly to the global HIV burden, particularly among children.
Quoting UNICEF, he said in 2020, Nigeria accounted for a substantial number of new child HIV infections worldwide, with an estimated 21,000 new infections, the highest globally.
Adetunji said: “Nigeria has the third-largest HIV burden in the world, after Mozambique and South Africa, with an HIV prevalence of 2.9 per cent among pregnant women.”
He encouraged pregnant women to undergo HIV testing at least twice during pregnancy. The chairman said: “If tested positive, proper antiretroviral drugs can be administered to prevent the unborn child from contracting the virus.
