Pregnant women living with HIV/ AIDS in Lagos, registered at the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) – one of the highly populated HIV treatment sites in Lagos, are currently defaulting from treatment, following stigmatization in banks, while making payment for treatment. Investigation by National Mirror has revealed that many of the pregnant women are finding it difficult to pay for their treatment as they are denied entry into the banks because of their HIV status.

The bank payment, which began earlier this year, following the introduction of the new single treasury account (TSA) payment method, may thus have hampered the gains made in the state’s Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme, National Mirror can now reveal. As at 2015, no fewer than 1,066 HIV positive pregnant women and 745 HIV exposed babies were reported to be on preventive drug treatment (prophylaxis) in the state.


Since the introduction of the TSA payment method, National Mirror gathered that the HIV positive persons now go to banks to make payment for laboratory tests and consultation, before being attended to. This has caused a lot of strain on positive pregnant women, who also have to make payment in banks for their lab and consultation, even though PMTCT treatments are free.. This, according to investigation, has made a large number of the women to default in their treatment and seek solution in unorthodox places. It has also resulted in increased child infection through Mother To Child Transmission (MTCT).

National Mirror investigation however revealed that that the situation is peculiar to NIMR because the institute has no bank within its premises, unlike other government owned treatment sites such as Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). One of the pregnant positive women, who identified herself as Mercy, was very bitter as she narrated how she was refused entry inside the bank for hours. “Immediately I presented my ‘RR’ number to the cashier, indicating that I am from NIMR, I was told to stay outside. I was refused entry in three banks before I was able to finally make payment. By the time I came back to NIMR, I couldn’t see the doctor again and I had to miss my treatment”, she said. Another pregnant positive woman Ijeoma, who had gone to pay for lab test, also corroborated the claim. She described how she was neglected at the bank for hours.

“The bank security staff said they received an order that people from NIMR should stay outside to avoid infecting people with tuberculosis”, she said. It was gathered that many of the people living with HIV, have grown tired of this stigmatization and have opted to stop going for treatment, resorting to churches or traditional birth attendants for help. One of the NIMR volunteer staff who pleaded anonymity confirmed to National Mirror that she also suffered the same fate, though she is HIV negative. “This happened in one of the branches of a first generation bank. Once I said I was from NIMR, I was told to stay outside. I had to explain to them that I am a NIMR staff not HIV positive”, she said. Another volunteer staff at NIMR, Mabel, told National Mirror that the PMTCT clinic at NIMR, is getting more scantier by the day.

Expressing concern at this, Amina Ali, Chairperson, Network of People Living with HIV/ AIDS in Nigeria, (NEPHWAN), Lagos Chapter, said the new treatment method is causing lots of stigmatization for members and even exposing more people to Tuberculosis. “For people living with both HIV and TB to be going about looking for where to make payment is even high risk for Nigerians.

At the bank, they will ask you what are you paying for, and when you tell them, they will not treat you very cordial. Again, some of these people are sick so they are not supposed to be walking about freely”, she said. Reacting to this, NIMR DG, Prof. Innocent Ujah, said the institute is planning to bring in a bank at the premises. “We have concluded the arrangement and this will soon kick off ”, he said. Meanwhile, the prevalence of HIV in Lagos remains high at 2.2 percent, ranking 18th worst hit HIV/AIDS states in Nigeria’s 36 states. Statistics from Lagos State AIDS Control Agency, (LSACA) 2014 report reveals that in the previous year, 1,702 pregnant women tested positive to HIV and had to be placed on prophylaxis in Lagos’ public health facilities.

The agency also disclosed that 1,143 babies that had been exposed to HIV were also placed on prophylaxis. According to the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, the state’s effort towards curbing HIV last year led to the sensitization of Traditional Birth Attendant, (TBA’s), on PMTCT, through testing and referring of HIV positive women to treatment sites. He disclosed that 28,736 pregnant women were counselled and tested during the outreaches, out of which 340 were positive and referred to PMTCT services. He also said that 2,957 HIV positive persons commenced anti-retroviral treatment in 2015, while 1,066 HIV positive pregnant women and 745 HIV exposed babies were placed on antiretroviral vaccine prophylaxis.

Expressing worry over the high rate of MTCT in the country, Dr. Sylvia Adebajo, from Population Council Abuja, revealed that about 2.9 million people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, out of 3.4 million people, diagnosed last year are not receiving the treatment needed to suppress the disease. Half of these people, she said, are women of reproductive age who will end up infecting their babies through child birth, she said. “These women, currently living in denial, are not only at risk of death from HIV related illnesses, they are also infecting their babies, causing a surge of the disease”. If the country must make progress in eliminating Mother to Child Traansmission of HIV (eMTCT) by 2030, Dr. Adebajo insists that the attitude of testing people and letting them go without follow up must be stopped while more people need to be reached with treatment.

Lalasticlacla


http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/stigmatisation-banks-shun-pregnant-women-with-hivaids/

Now thats bad if true.

Nawa oo

DickDastardly:
Now thats bad if true.

Honestly, Money too dey contact HIV? To accept deposit don turn wahala.

factors influencing utilization of prevention of mother to child transmission (pmtct) services among pregnant women attending ante-natal clinic in university of calabar teaching hospital (ucth)

revealed that the socio-economic factors influencing utilization of PMTCT services among pregnant women were: stigmatization and discrimination by healthcare personnel; dependence of women on their husbands to make healthcare decisions; distance to PMTCT facilities....

http://www.scharticles.com/factors-influencing-utilization-of-prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission-pmtct-services-among-pregnant-women-attending-ante-natal/