Declining knowledge of mother-to-child transmission of HIV among African women attending antenatal care: a threat to sustainable development goal 3

Uduak Bassey^1*, Michael Olabode Tomori², Olumide Faith Ajani³, Azeezat Abimbola Oyewande⁴, Abiodun Olakunle Ogunniyi⁵, Freddy Rukema Kaniki⁶, Aneke Chukwunonye², Sola Thomas Sunday⁷, Jimmy Aiden⁸, Timilehin Michael Omole⁹, Paul Olaiya Abiodun¹⁰, Felix Olaniyi Sanni¹¹

¹Department of Public Health, Walden University, USA

²Department of Public Health, University of Central Nicaragua

³Department of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, University of Science and Technology, Selangor, Malaysia

⁴Department of Family medicine, Lagos State Health service commission

⁵Management department, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Abuja

⁶Department of Health Sciences Eben-Ezer University, Minembwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo

⁷Surveillance department, Nigeria Center for Disease Control, Jabi Abuja

⁸Technical Department, Malaria Consortium, Nigeria

⁹Department of Strategic Supply Chain Management, University of Roehampton, London, UK

¹⁰Department of Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Axios Foundation, Abuja, Nigeria

¹¹Department of Public Health, Triune Biblical University Global Extension, New York, USA

Abstract

Background: Poor knowledge of mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT) of HIV infection is a serious threat to the Sustainable Development Goal-3 (SDG3) to eliminate AIDS as a threat to public health by 2030, particular among women of reproductive age. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge the MTCT routes of HIV infection among women attending antenatal clinics in Nigeria from 2007 to 2016/2017. Method: Secondary data were obtained from the United Nation Children’s Fund Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey conducted in Nigeria in 2007, 2011, and 2016/2017. The data were analysed using IBM-SPSS version 25.0 to assess the trend in the knowledge of MTCT of HIV in the three periods. Result: There was a significant decline in the knowledge of Nigerian women about MTCT from 89.5% in 2007 to 80.3% and 78.2% in 2011 and 2016/17 respectively. Factors such as age 45 &Above (adjusted odds ratio (AOR=2.37, 95% CI=1.28-4.39; P=0.006), higher education (AOR=1.46, 95% CI=1.12–1.89; P=0.005), and residing in urban areas (AOR=1.48, 95% CI=1.13–1.91; P< 0.001), having higher education (AOR=3.25, 95% CI=2.74–3.86; P=0.007), were positively associated with the women knowledge of MTCT but no association was found between marital status and knowledge of MTCT. Conclusion: Rural women, younger people, and illiterate should be focussed on when designing initiatives and policies to enhance the awareness of MTCT in Nigeria. Initiatives in these areas will improve the actualizing of the SDG3 in Nigeria by the year 2030.

Keywords

mother to child transmission; Antenatal care; knowledge of HIV.

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