By Muhammad Amaan
The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has attributed the significant progress made in ending HIV/AIDS in Nigeria to journalists amplifying issues around the epidemic on their media spaces.
The Director-General of NACA, Dr Temitope Ilori stated this during the end of year media party organised by NACA to celebrate the progress, impact and partnership with journalists in Abuja.
According to her, amplifying issues around HIV has further raised awareness on prevention, care and treatment, geared toward meeting the 2030 target of eliminating AIDS in Nigeria.
She said “the gospel of HIV is all about the media. It is all about prevention, care and treatment. But the news and information has to be out there.
“We appreciate journalists who collaborated with us in our vision, mission and goal of achieving an AIDS-free generation and making sure AIDS is no longer a public health threat by 2030.”
She also noted the pivotal role journalists play in creating awareness on Prevention-of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT), advocacies for policies to protect the vulnerable, especially children.
“We also launched the PMTCT acceleration plan, which you have done a good work in projecting it, aimed at addressing gaps in testing and prevention of HIV to achieve zero transmission to newborns,” she said.
She revealed that Nigeria has HIV prevalence of 1.4 per cent among general population, 15-64 years, with an estimated two million people living with the virus.
The NACA boss, while urging the media to sustain the fight against HIV/AIDS by amplifying issues around the epidemic, encouraged stakeholders and the public to renew commitment to ending the epidemic, especially among children.
Also, Mrs Toyin Aderibigbe, the Deputy Director, Public Relations and Protocol Division, NACA, commended the media for their commitments toward ending AIDS in Nigeria and urged them to sustain the fight.
She added that “your support and commitment to amplifying the stories, campaigns and programmes on HIV response in Nigeria has been instrumental in advancing our mission to combat HIV/AIDS and improve public health.
“The milestones we celebrate today would not have been possible without your impactful reporting and dedication.”
Other events of the day were the conferment of awards to journalists including Justina Auta of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN); Lara Adejoro, The Punch Newspaper; Akor Ojoma of Daily Trust Newspaper and Nike Adebowale-Tambe, Premium Times, among others.
The journalists were conferred with various awards for their exceptional reporting on HIV-related issues.
Mrs Bassey Ita-Ikpang, the FCT Chairperson of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), who spoke on behalf of the award recipients, thanked the Federal Government for the recognition.
Mrs Ita-Ikpang assured the commitment of the award recipients and other journalists to sustain the fight against HIV/AIDS.
She said “we will keep on reporting and amplifying the messages of NACA and other stakeholders in ending AIDS in Nigeria.”
She urged other stakeholders to continue to collaborate toward ending stigma, discrimination and reducing new infections in the country.
It will be recalled that Dr Iziaq Adekunle-Salako, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, had noted Nigeria’s significant progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, with a current prevalence rate of 1.4 per cent in the general population and an estimated two million people living with HIV.
Also, Dr Leo Zekeng, the UNAIDS Country Representative, said Nigeria had achieved notable progress in treatment access, with 1.6 million out of two million people living with HIV currently on treatment.
Zekeng, however, said that challenges such as stigma, discrimination and access to prevention and treatment services remained.
He said “as of 2023, approximately two million people are living with HIV in the country, with an adult prevalence rate of 1.3 per cent among individuals aged 15–49. Nigeria recorded approximately 130,000 new HIV infections in 2010.
“By 2023, the number declined to about 75,000 new infections, representing a reduction of approximately 55,000 cases, or a 42.3 per cent decrease over 13 years.
“The country has also achieved notable progress in treatment access, with 1.6 million out of the two million people living with HIV in Nigeria currently on treatment.”
