HIV testing among male partners of pregnant women in Nigeria: a missing link in the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV

Abstract

In this study, we assessed male partner testing and the serodiscordance rate among pregnant women and their partners in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme in Nigeria. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the consolidated national health sector PMTCT data over a five-year period (2012–2016). Over the period, a total of 11,833,062 pregnant women were tested for HIV with a positivity rate of 2.2%. About 266,188 (2.2%) of sexual partners of pregnant women who presented at PMTCT clinics had an HIV test within the period. The uptake of male partner testing varied across the years, ranging from 22,269 (1.7%) in 2012 to 90,603 (2.9%) in 2014 (χ² for trend = 1320; p < 0.001). Overall, the proportion of partners of HIV-negative pregnant women who tested was higher than the proportion of partners of HIV-positive pregnant women (81% versus 19%, respectively). The serodiscordance rate among partners who tested over the five-year period was 18%. The serodiscordance rate declined from 24% in 2012 to 13% in 2016 (χ² for trend = 1202; p < 0.001). Partner testing in the PMTCT programme in Nigeria has remained low in the last five years while the clinic-based serodiscordance rate among partners appears to be declining. There is a need for multilevel interventions to address the possible barriers to partner testing in the PMTCT programme and intensification of the HIV combination prevention approach in the HIV response.