Buhari foresees end to HIV/AIDS scourge by 2030

*Akwa Ibom overtakes Benue in latest HIV survey

Mathew Dadiya & Doosuur Iwambe, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed optimism that the spread of HIV/AIDS would be mitigated and possibly end by the year 2030.

The president gave the assurance on Thursday at the launch of a report: “2018 Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS)”, where he noted that the survey represented the largest investigation on HIV/AIDS globally.

Buhari stated that the report was an indication that the end of the HIV scourge as a public health threat in Nigeria would be over by 2030, declaring that the federal government’s efforts at scaling down the prevalence of HIV/AIDS infection in Nigeria has started paying-off, as infection rate dropped significantly to 1.4 per cent in 2018 as against the 3.0 per cent in 2014.

According to statistics released by the Federal Ministry of Health, about 1.9 million citizens are currently infected by the deadly virus. This new data is contained in the report of the survey recently carried out by the ministry in conjunction with other development partners.

Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Sani Aliyu announced at the presentation of the report held at the Banquet Hall of the State House that the percentage of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) in Nigeria, among the age group of 15-49 years, is 1.4 per cent (1.9 per cent among females and 0.9 per cent among males.)

Also, Aliyu said that the viral suppression among persons infected by the HIV virus aged 15 – 49 – years – old with access to treatment stands at 42.3 per cent (45.3 per cent among women and 34.5 per cent among men).

According to him, the number of women living with HIV is double the number of men living with the virus, adding that states with the highest prevalence of virus is now Akwa Ibom. The survey also showed that Northern Nigeria has a lower HIV/AIDS burden than the south.

“The South-South zone of the country has the highest HIV prevalence at 3.1 per cent among those aged 15–49 years. HIV prevalence among the same age group in the North Central zone is 2.0 per cent and in the South East zone (1.9 per cent).

The prevalence is lower in the South West zone (1.1 per cent), the North East zone (1.1 per cent) and the North West zone (0.6 per cent),’’ he added.

While emphasising the importance for all people living with HIV to get treatment and achieve viral suppression, Aliyu added that government and its partners have what it takes to support people who are HIV-positive, “to provide treatment, to protect their families and to help people live long and healthy lives.”

The federal government launched the National AIDS survey in June 2018 to determine the true distribution of HIV and AIDS, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in the country.

The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, on his part said that the improved understanding of the country’s HIV epidemic would allow Nigeria to better reach people living with HIV and people at higher risk of acquiring HIV.

“I commend the government of Nigeria and its partners for conducting this ambitious survey, which provides us with a much better understanding of the country’s HIV epidemic,” he said