PMTCT Service Uptake among Pregnant Women in 3 Internally Displace Persons Camps in Borno State Northeast Nigeria

Background: Humanitarian emergencies upset and wreck existing healthcare services and systems. Pregnant women and infant are incredibly defenseless, as these infants are exposed to the risk of preventable childhood disease which includes HIV that is transmitted from their HIV positive mother. In the absence of any intervention, the risk of HIV transmission increases to about 40% among infant born to HIV positive mothers.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence and uptake of HIV services among pregnant women and to assess the level of Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) by PCR uptake for children under 2 months born to HIV positive mothers.

Methods: A sentinel case study approach conducted in 3 internally displaced people (IDP) camps in 3 LGAs (Banki, Dikwa and Ngala) of Borno state Nigeria, from January 2018 to May 2019. Data collected using standard tools and DHIS 2.0 used for data extraction and MS Excel used for analysis.

Results: Prevalence of HIV among pregnant women (1st ANC Visits) in the 3 IDP camps were 1.22% (Ngala), 0.44% (Banki) and 0.16% (Dikwa) with an average of 0.61% compared to the 2018 National zonal average for the North East of1.1%. Uptake of HIV testing service among pregnant women in the 3 IDP camps were 90.65% (Ngala), 100% (Banki) and 100% (Dikwa), with an average uptake of 96.9%; while EID uptake for HIV exposed children within 2 months of age were: 50.0% (Dikwa), 12.5% (Banki) and 0% (Ngala).

Conclusions: The study also shows that none of the 3 IDP camps were able to optimize Early Infant Diagnosis at 2 months of birth. It is hereby recommended that Care-giver Focused Approach should be prioritized in preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) service delivery.