The Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), in partnership with the Centre for Integrated Health Programs (CIHP), conducted an HIV awareness and testing event for 248 pregnant women and others on Friday. This initiative is part of the Baby Shower toolkit program aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, recently launched in Lagos.
Pathwaynews reports that the beneficiaries received hospital child delivery packs at the event held at Ilupeju Central Mosque in Lagos. Dr. Timothy Efuntoye, Prevention Branch Chief, CDC Nigeria, emphasized that the program’s goal is to ensure HIV-free transmission from pregnant women to their unborn children. He highlighted that this adaptation of the Baby Shower toolkit was specifically designed for a Muslim community setting.
“This is part of the activities to mark the Baby Shower toolkit which was launched on Wednesday. For the very first time, we are deploying what was adapted in this Muslim community to sensitize women and also provide them with tests and education on how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV,” Efuntoye said.
For the sustainability of the program, major gatekeepers, including the Chief Imam of Lagos State and supportive individuals within the congregation, have been engaged. CIHP plans to collaborate with multilateral agencies and the Lagos State government to provide necessary supplies for the program’s continuation.
Dr. Francis Ogirima, Director for Clinical Services, CIHP, explained that the Baby Shower toolkit standardizes the approach to PMTCT, leveraging congregational settings such as mosques, churches, and traditional worship centers. He noted that while the program initially started in churches, it is now being extended to mosques to include Islamic worshippers.
Ogirima stated, “What we do as health program centers is to leverage those settings where they already go for faith information to provide them with additional health information. Today, we are at the mosque; tomorrow, we can be in the church and subsequent days in the traditional centers.”
Imam Ibrahim Muhammad, Resident Cleric of Ilupeju Central Mosque, praised CDC and CIHP for organizing the event, emphasizing the importance of educating women about HIV transmission and prevention. He pledged to continue advocating and collaborating with other Muslim clerics to educate their congregations.
A beneficiary, Mrs. Saeedat Balogun, expressed her gratitude to the organizers, promising to regularly check her health status and educate her family and friends about HIV and its prevention.
