By Ali Elias
The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) has recorded a major breakthrough in HIV prevention, announcing that fewer than one per cent of babies born to HIV-positive mothers enrolled in its care have contracted the virus—a success rate comparable to international standards.
This was revealed on Tuesday by Professor Oliver Ezechi, Director of Research at NIMR, during the institute’s monthly media chat in Lagos, an event designed to brief the public on current research milestones.
According to Ezechi, over 7,000 women have participated in NIMR’s Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme nationwide, with 5,717 of them delivering their babies at NIMR’s health facility. Remarkably, in the past four years, no HIV-positive mother in the programme has transmitted the virus to her child during or after delivery.
“We are now seeing results, as our paediatric HIV clinic is nearly empty, showing the prevention programme is highly effective,” said Ezechi.
He attributed this outstanding outcome to the institute’s commitment to applying globally recognised scientific protocols in Nigeria’s healthcare context.
“We observed that HIV-positive women are often turned away by health facilities once their status is known,” he explained.
“One key action we took was applying proven scientific methods used in developed countries to ensure effective prevention of HIV transmission.”
The success of the programme not only represents a major milestone in Nigeria’s public health response to HIV/AIDS, but also sends a strong message about the importance of inclusive, evidence-based care for HIV-positive women.
Beyond the PMTCT programme, NIMR is also pioneering other HIV-related studies. These include the development of youth-friendly HIV self-testing tools and the integration of hypertension management into HIV care protocols.
As Nigeria continues to battle the dual challenges of HIV/AIDS and limited access to healthcare, the NIMR model offers a replicable blueprint for reducing new infections and delivering dignified, stigma-free care to vulnerable populations. “Our results prove that with the right methods, zero transmission is possible—even in resource-limited settings,” Ezechi concluded.