The Minister of State for Health, Dr Muhammad Pate, has enjoined expectant mothers go to hospitals or medical centres to deliver their babies to avail themselves of the usage of health facilities.
Pate said this was necessary to enable HIV positive mothers to have access to proper HIV treatment in order to protect their new babies from acquiring the virus.
The minister gave the advice in Uyo on Saturday when he paid a courtesy call on Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom.
“We are making progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS but needed to do more, we need to know while more than 600 expectant mothers will attend ante-natal and only 87 will deliver in the centre.
He advised Nigerians to know their HIV status in order to allow them to live a healthy and productive life.
Responding, Akpabio said people still held the view that HIV and AIDS were not existing, even though they had eaten deep into the lives of many people.
Represented by Lady Valarie Ebe, Deputy Governor of the state, Akpabio said poverty was one of the contributors to the spread of the virus.
He pointed out that many young girls got involved in risky behaviours due to their economic conditions.