Only 67 per cent of women attend antenatal clinics in Nigeria.
Experts in the health sector have called for increased awareness and interventions if Nigeria is to eliminate Mother To Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV, Hepatitis B and Syphilis.
The experts, who spoke at a media roundtable in Abuja on Tuesday, said some persons especially women are unaware of the risk certain infections pose to their unborn babies.
The roundtable themed: "Reaching Zero Infected Babies: HIV, Hepatitis B, Syphilis Triple Elimination" was organised by the United States' Centre for Disease Control (CDC).
Speaking at the event, the National Coordinator, National AIDS and STDs Control Programme (NASCP), Bashorun Adebobola, said the aim of every government, including that of Nigeria is to ensure no child is born with any infection.
Mr Adebobola said although the government in partnership with other stakeholders has put in efforts to achieve zero infected babies in the country, more interventions are still required.
He said one of the major steps is ensuring all women attend antenatal "as this is one way to harvest those of them at risks of infections like hepatitis and syphilis."
He lamented that in Nigeria, only 67 per cent of women attend antenatal clinics according to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).
"When you look at the 2022 end of the year national data for PMTCT coverage, it is about 34 per cent. So for us to get to 90 per cent or zero infection, we need to do more," he said.
Increased mortality
Speaking at the event, the U.S. CDC country director, Mary Boyd, said the drivers of mortality in Nigeria remain primarily infections.
Ms Boyd said a lot of these infections are preventable and, or treatable.
"Second is neonatal disorders. If you look at the babies with neonatal disorders, some of them are because of vaccine-preventable diseases in their mothers. We, therefore, must support the mother and baby to do well with regard to infections," she said.
She noted that maternal and child mortality is an issue of "health equity".
"If before COVID-19 we had doubts about solving issues in the developing world, but COVID-19 re-oriented all of us to understand that issues affecting any part of the world will eventually affect the entire world," she said.
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"For us as the U.S. Government, this is an area we commit to continue to support countries to overcome."
Ms Boyd noted that although progress has been made over the years to protect babies, improved efforts and interventions will go a long way to reach the zero-infected babies goal.
"The global decline in neonatal mortality in babies is not declining as fast as other age groups. So, we still need to double up our efforts in these areas. If we can put in place interventions like treatment, and vaccinations, then it can save more lives."
She said through partnership with the Nigerian government, the CDC remains committed to helping the country make progress by supporting the establishment of strong organisation programmes, HIV prevention treatment programmes, and investing in adolescent and young people's health.
"We are also working with the government to establish an integrated health systems approach," she said.
PMTCT Intervention
The CDC deputy director for programmes, Jerry Gwamna, said Nigeria is one of the major contributors to MTCT, accounting for about one-third of all cases globally.
Mr Jerry said with the Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) intervention, the risk of transmission can be significantly reduced or altogether prevented.
He, however, noted that the risk of MTCT transmission without any intervention is about 15 to 45 per cent.
