The Gombe State chapter Association of Women Living With HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, on Friday urged the government to engage them in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmissions campaign to curb spread.
The association made this plea while commemorating International Women’s Day with the theme ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress’.
Our correspondent reports that IWD2024 is used to celebrate women and girls in their diversity globally to celebrate achievements and to amplify their voices in advocating for equity and justice to compete favourably with their male counterparts.
Addressing members Gombe State Coordinator, Margaret Maisanda, disclosed that if ASWHAN is involved in PMTCT programme implementation and service delivery result would be achieved.
Maisanda disclosed that the association would serve as mentors, stressing that they have the ability to prevent transmission.
She said, “Make ASWHAN the face of PMTCT in Nigeria to end mother to child transmission of HIV, no child should be born with HIV. The burden lies with us, make ASWHAN partners in this fight.
“We are calling on Global Fund, the PMTCT Implementing Partners to include ASWHAN in the GC7 PMTCT implementation, we are the mentor mothers, we carry the pregnancy and we deliver the children in the labour rooms we are the only ones that can prevent the transmission. Only a mother has the ability to protect her baby with her life.
“This year’s international women day theme which is invest in women: Accelerate progress is appropriate in the right direction as it focuses on investment in terms of financing HIV programmes that will better the lives and wellbeing of women and girls.”
While calling on the government, donors national and international and all relevant stakeholders in the fight of HIV/AIDS, to accelerate investment in HIV programmes for women, Maisanda added, We call on small and medium enterprise organisations to include ASWHAN in their skills acquisition and economic empowerment programmes, to train our women on different business skills, support them with small grant to boost their businesses and support us to form cooperatives. We want our women to be economically empowered.Women Living With HIV are suffering with no source of income and are burdened with children and other dependents to take care of. Support ASWHAN with economic empowerment and life building skill to empower women living with HIV to live a decent and productive life. Out of the 1.6 million people living with HIV in Nigeria, 56 per cent are women. Please support us to alleviate poverty among WLWH.”
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