By Muhammad Amaan
The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), said Nigeria has recorded significant decline in the number of persons infected with HIV/AIDS.
Director-General, Dr Gambo Aliyu, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday, ahead of the 2023 World AIDS Day (WAD).
WAD is a global observance, annually celebrated on Dec. 1 around the world to raise awareness about the AIDS pandemic, caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who died of the disease.
The day has “Communities: Leadership to End AIDS by 2030” as its theme for 2023.
The NACA boss, therefore, said “Nigeria like many other countries has made significant strides in the fight against HIV/AIDS, but there is still much to be done to achieve the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
“Nigeria has the second largest burden of HIV infection. Currently, a total of 1.8 million persons are estimated to be living with HIV in the country, out of which, about 1.63 million are already on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), a lifesaving medication.
“Approximately, 58 per cent are estimated to be females, and 42 per cent are males.
“The national average Mother-To-Child Transmission rate of 22 per cent is driven by a large number of states with transmission rates above 25 per cent and few states with rates below 15 per cent.
“Nigeria is responsible for about 30 per cent of the world’s gap in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT).”
He said that the declining figure was achieved with the support of partners and global communities to prevent new infections, increase HIV awareness and knowledge and support those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
He, however, stressed the need to address social and structural factors that drive the HIV epidemic.
“It is imperative that we confront these systemic inequalities head-on and work to ensure that all individuals have equal access to life-saving prevention, treatment and care services, as well as other social services available to Nigerians,” he said.
The Country Director of UNAIDS, Dr Leo Zekeng, said that the agency is committee to continuous support to the Federal Government in eliminating HIV/AIDS.
He added that “we have made remarkable progress not only in Nigeria, but worldwide as about 30 million people are on treatment, which is remarkable.
“AIDS is no longer the deadly disease that it used to be, and those who are diagnosed with HIV but follow every rule and take the medication can live a normal life.”
