Effect of the antenatal HIV testing scale up community intervention in South West, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: HIV/AIDS is a major killer of under five children, with about 25-30% of children born to infected mothers becoming infected with HIV in the absence of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) intervention. This study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of the antenatal HIV testing scale up community intervention to increase the uptake of antenatal HIV Testing. The intervention was implemented to increase the low coverages of antenatal HIV testing and PMTCT services in Osun State, South West, Nigeria.

Methods: the cross-sectional design was utilized for the study. Data was collected using data collection instruments administered to 600 respondents from the 30 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the State. Data was also extracted from Medical Records generated from the Health Facilities where pregnant women received HIV Testing.

Results: the study revealed that 72% of adult respondent had adequate knowledge of the importance of antenatal HIV testing while 98% of female respondent had accepting attitude to getting tested for HIV during their next pregnancy. The number of pregnant women who received HIV Testing increased from 6,254, pre-intervention (April to August 2019) to 8,240, post-intervention (September 2019-January 2021).

Conclusion: the antenatal HIV testing scale up community intervention is effective in increasing the utilization of antenatal HIV testing by increasing awareness and attitude to HIV testing in the community. Thus, efforts to scale it up in Nigeria should be accelerated to improve PMTCT services and reduce Mother to Child Transmission of HIV.