World AIDS Day: Early detection, treatment will close HIV prevention gaps- Stakeholders

Despite progress made against Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) for years and the availability of proven prevention and treatment method, new analysis from Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) shows that new HIV infections among youths have stalled, failing to decline for at least five years.

Meanwhile, some measures of success in Nigeria show that 600,000 men, women and children which are about 90 percent of the people living with HIV/AIDS are currently on HIV treatment.

Also, 8.7 million people have received HIV counselling and testing; more than 55, 000 pregnant women have been provided anti-retroviral drugs for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Also, 750, 000 adults and children living with HIV/AIDS have received care to support quality of life and 700,000 children orphaned by AIDS have received care and support in Nigeria.

However, as Nigeria join the rest of the world to commemorate the World AIDS Day today, December 1, 2016 with the theme: ‘Hands Up for #HIV prevention’, experts have said that adequate funding and treatment are fundamental strategies for HIV prevention.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Times, Executive Director, PLAN Health Advocacy and Development Foundation, Ibadan and National Coordinator, Treatment Access Mobilizers Initiative (TAM -Nigeria), Mr. Obatunde Oladapo, said there is need to emphasise on the importance of treatment as prevention of HIV prevention.

His words: “I’ve realised that the power towards treating AIDS lies in the community. HIV is diagnosed in the laboratory but the result has monumental impact on the person that is affected and other people related to the person with HIV.

“We need to look beyond the small sample of blood and the result that comes out of it but how it affects people around and the environment that person is. We need to look at the family as the microscopy of the community and the community as the microscopy of the world at large, if we really are serious about having an end to AIDS, we need to look at the community

“And therefore, we need to be focused about empowering the community positively and effectively.”

Recall that in 2015, the target of reaching 15 million persons globally with access to HIV life-saving treatment was achieved and even more.

“This means that it is possible to ensure that every person with HIV has access to treatment and given the opportunity of living healthy and successful and productive life. If you want to end AIDS, while taking care of people who are infected, you have to ensure that people who are not infected don’t get infected. So, treatment is prevention of HIV,” Oladapo said.

He said it has been documented that when you treat a person with HIV, you are reducing the tendency of the person infecting other people.

“Studies have shown that in discordant couples, where the person with HIV is on treatment and the viral load is undetectable, the likelihood of infecting his or her partner is virtually zero, so treatment prevents HIV infection

“These days, a mother who is HIV positive and on treatment can have her child and breastfeed her without infecting the baby. This is an indication of the importance of treatment

“While we are focusing on HIV counseling and testing, and other preventive measures like condoms, and abstinence, we also encourage treatment as another strategy for prevention.”

Also speaking, the President, Association of Resident Doctors, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Dr Akinkunmi Afolabi, said there is need to tackle all forms of discrimination against HIV patients.

“The association advocates for the expansion of voluntary counselling and testing programmes, diagnostic laboratory services and treatment centers to help us as a nation to consolidate on the strides made in combating HIV/AIDS.”

As of 2014, the prevalence rate among adults ages 15-49 was 3.17%. Nigeria has the second largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS after South Africa in the Africa region. The HIV epidemic in Nigeria is complex and varies widely by region.

In some states, the epidemic is more concentrated and driven by high risk behaviours, while other states have more generalised epidemics that are sustained primary by multiple sexual partnerships in the general population. Youth and young adults are more vulnerable to HIV in Nigeria, with young women at higher risk than young men.

According UNAIDS, inadequate investments in prevention and unfocused investments that do not reach the most affects populations and locations are among the reasons for the prevention gap.

Meanwhile, the US government has disbursed over $3.4 billion to support the Nigerian HIV/AIDS response.

The US Consul-General in Nigeria, John Bray explained that the amount dates back to 2004 when it began its President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

PEPFAR is an initiative of the US government aimed at addressing the global HIV/AIDS burden and saving the lives of those affected by the disease, especially in Africa.

Director, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), Oladipupo Fisher, said more work need to be done in order to eradicate the disease by 2030.

Also, Consultant Haematologist at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof. Sulaimon Akanmu, urged Nigerians to go for HIV test.

“This will help bring the viral load to an undetectable load, where they will likely not infect other people, and is in tune with World Health Organisation’s new treatment guideline for HIV/AIDS.”