As Nigeria celebrates the 2025 Children’s Day, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has urged healthcare providers to ensure quality and respectful care for women and children.

The agency called on all stakeholders to renew their commitments towards safeguarding the health and future of Nigerian children by strengthening efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Director General of NACA, Dr. Temitope Ilori, who made the call in a massage to mark the children’s day yesterday in Abuja, lamented that despite significant progress in the HIV response, thousands of children in Nigeria are still born with HIV each year, describing the situation as a preventable tragedy.

Ilorin noted that Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services remains one of the most effective strategies in ending pediatric HIV and ensuring that no child is born with the virus.

“Children’s Day is a reminder that we must do everything within our power to protect the next generation. Every child deserves a healthy start to life. This includes ensuring that every pregnant woman has access to early testing, and if positive, is put on treatment, and continuous care throughout pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding,” she said.

Ilori stated that in recent years, Nigeria has made important strides in expanding PMTCT services, but gaps remain, adding that these gaps are widened by stigma and discrimination that discourage women from seeking care.

She appealed to community and faith-based organisations to raise awareness and fight stigma, and urged families and caregivers to support women to access and adhere to treatment.

The NACA boss observed that a HIV-free generation is possible, but only if we act with urgency and compassion.

“Together, let’s celebrate our children by protecting their right to be born free of HIV,” she added.