30 Dec A SECOND CHANCE AT MOTHERHOOD: HOW COMMUNITY PMTCT CHANGED SARATU’S STORY
For Saratu, a 21-year-old woman from Ankpa, the thought of giving birth to an HIV-negative child once seemed impossible. Having lost two of her children to the virus in the past, her journey to motherhood had been filled with pain, stigma, and heartbreak. First diagnosed with HIV in 2021, Saratu was initially enrolled into treatment and care at the General Hospital, Ankpa, in Kogi State. However, due to stigma and her husband’s refusal to support her care, she discontinued treatment and became lost to follow-up. With no mobile phone and having relocated to a different area, all efforts to trace her proved abortive.
During this period, tragedy struck, and Saratu lost two of her children within two years. Isolated and grieving, her situation worsened as her husband blamed her misfortune on a curse and eventually forced her out of their home. Everything changed in 2023 when Saratu, pregnant for the third time after reconciling with her husband, visited a Traditional Birth Center (TBC). This TBC is one of many collaborating with CIHP to provide community PMTCT to pregnant women in underserved communities in the state.
In a heart-to-heart conversation with a CIHP-empowered mentor mother, Saratu revealed that her previous deliveries had taken place in prayer houses, which could not offer PMTCT services. But this time was different. Through the CIHP-supported PMTCT program, Saratu received comprehensive care, from antenatal services to delivery and postpartum support. In November 2023, she safely delivered her baby under skilled care. With consistent treatment and care, she achieved viral suppression. As of her last test in 2025, she had attained an undetectable viral load.
Today, her two-year-old baby is healthy and HIV-negative, having received the full complement of PMTCT services.
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