Plateau state provides HIV prevention training to 60 healthcare workers

The Plateau Ministry of Health, has trained 60 healthcare workers, on the Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Dr Cletus Shurkuk, the State Commissioner for Health, while speaking at the event on Tuesday in Jos, said the aim of the training was to help reduce the HIV burden, especially the transmission from mother to child.

Shurkuk, said the burden from the national statistics for the transmission from mother to child was still in double digit.

He urged the participants, who were picked from the 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state  to pay rapt attention during the training and ensure they cascade the knowledge gained to their colleagues, to help reduce the HIV burden of mother to child transmission in the state and the nation at large.

Earlier, Mrs Maria Bawa, Plateau’s HIV Programme Coordinator, said that the aim of the training was to achieve epidemic control and to have a HIV free generation by 2030.

Bawa, said the healthcare workers would embark on a massive testing of pregnant women in their various communities to ensure that those, who tested positive to the virus were  be placed on anti retroviral to achieve viral suppression to prevent the transmission of the virus from the mother to her unborn baby.

A participant, Mr Elisha Bagae, a Monitoring and Evaluation healthcare officer from Bassa LGA, said the training was very insightful as he had gained more knowledge as regards the prevention of HIV from mother to child transmission.