The health authorities will have to do more to curtail the infection
Nigeria joined the rest of the world on December 1 to commemorate the World Aids Day. This year’s event, cheerily themed “Getting to Zero: Ending HIV/AIDS by 2030” by the World Health Organisation (WHO) projected zero HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths within the next 15 years. All factors considered, we believe that it is an attainable goal considering that in the last 15 years some 7.8 million lives had been saved globally from HIV-related deaths.
In a report tagged “Global Health Sector Response to HIV 2000-2015”, WHO observed that “the rapid scale-up of access to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), one of the greatest public health achievements in recent times, has made treatment available to more than 16 million people living with HIV across the globe.” Dr.Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, also said that in the last 15 years, new HIV infections had been reduced by 41 per cent on the continent. But she noted too that in sub-Saharan Africa some 26 million are still living with the infection.
Africa’s most populous country demonstrates this ambivalence. For sure, Nigeria has made significant gains in the battle against the menace. It reportedly achieved a 35 per cent reduction in new infections between 2005 and 2013, a no mean feat. But there are still dreary statistics.
According to reports, approximately 210,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in Nigeria in 2013 and that accounts for 14 per cent of the world total. The number of Nigerians still living with HIV/AIDS is also high. According to the figures thrown around during the World Aids Day, of the 34 million PLWHAs in the world, 3.5 million are Nigerians; thus Nigeria with about 2.4 per cent of the world population, is bearing more than 10 per cent of the world’s AIDS burden. Some 800,000 others are reportedly being treated with antiretroviral drugs.
The prevalence rate of Nigerians between the age bracket of 15 and 49 with HIV infections is 3.1 per cent, making the country the second-largest in Africa. As rightly observed by the Health Minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire, HIV/AIDS epidemic is still a serious public health issue with enormous negative impact on the health of Nigerians and the economy. Yet one of the key issues fingered by health authorities for the present scary state of affair is inadequate funding, but there are other challenges. For instance, less than 50 per cent of people needing anti-retroviral treatment have access while barely half the numbers of people living with HIV know their status.
Indeed, the worry is that in Nigeria the situation seems to be getting worse by the day while critical agencies of government continue to understate the national prevalence rate of the dreaded disease as well as the total number of people living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria. Nigeria remains second to South Africa on the world league table for people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA).
Against the background that Nigeria was 4th a few years back, it only goes to show that we have not taken the issue seriously. Therefore, there is need for government, at all levels, to show renewed commitment in fighting the scourge.
All said, the health authorities must scale up their enlightenment campaigns, particularly in the rural areas, on the many risk behaviours that could lead to infections, including unprotected sex, said to account for about 80 per cent of new infections in the country. Nigeria has what it takes to stop new transmission and improve the lives of those living with the virus.
