eMTCT Intervention to Save Lives of HIV-Exposed Infants

Timeline: November 2014 – October 2017 | Status: Completed

Nigeria

Project Overview

Mother-to-child transmission of HIV remains one of the leading causes of HIV infection among children, despite the availability of highly effective prevention interventions. Between November 2014 and October 2017, the Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF), with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, implemented the eMTCT Intervention to Save Lives of HIV-Exposed Infants to support Nigeria's efforts towards the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (eMTCT) of HIV.

The project contributed to national strategies aimed at ensuring that pregnant women living with HIV received timely diagnosis, treatment, and appropriate care throughout pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding. At the same time, it sought to improve access to early infant diagnosis and follow-up services for HIV-exposed infants, ensuring that children born to HIV-positive mothers had the best possible chance of surviving and thriving.

Working alongside government institutions and health partners, HSDF supported interventions that strengthened service delivery, improved programme coordination, and enhanced the use of data to inform programme implementation and monitor progress towards eMTCT targets.

Without timely diagnosis and treatment, HIV can be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. Although effective interventions exist, gaps in service delivery, limited access to testing and treatment, and weak follow-up systems continued to place thousands of infants at risk.

Strengthening the continuum of care—from antenatal services through postnatal follow-up—was essential to reducing new paediatric HIV infections and improving maternal and child health outcomes.

HSDF supported efforts to strengthen prevention of mother-to-child transmission services by working closely with government stakeholders and implementing partners. The project focused on:

Supporting interventions to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Strengthening service delivery for pregnant women and HIV-exposed infants.
Promoting early infant diagnosis and continuity of care.
Enhancing programme coordination and implementation.
Improving the use of health data to monitor programme performance and inform decision-making.

The project contributed to Nigeria’s broader goal of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV by strengthening systems that support prevention, early diagnosis, and continuity of care. Through collaboration with government and health sector partners, the initiative helped reinforce the capacity of health facilities and programmes to deliver integrated HIV services for mothers and their children, supporting healthier beginnings and better long-term outcomes.