NBS puts rate of persons with HIV in Northeast at 21.8 percent

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that at least 21.8 percent of persons in the Northeast have been tested for HIV in the last 12 months and the result made known.

Chioma Ikemakholam, a statistician with the NBS made the disclosure Friday at a one-day meeting on the dissemination of the 2016/17 MICs report of the Northeast by the National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with UNICEF, held at the Chartwell Hotel and Suites in Bauchi.

The statistician disclosed that the 2017/17 MICs survey by the NBS was the fifth round in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, as part of the global MICs programme.

The survey, according to her, further indicates that more than 75.6 percent persons in the northeast region have comprehensive knowledge of HIV, with women recording 28.5 and men recording 47.1 respectively.

“More males have comprehensive knowledge of HIV than females in Nigeria with a record of 35 percent for men and 29 percent for women.

In the last 12 months, same proportion, that is 15 person of males and females have been tested for HIV and know their status”, Chioma said.

“The knowledge about HIV is higher in South South than other zones in Nigeria.

Percentage of those who know about AIDs in the Northeast is 77.6 percent, for Southeast is 92.6 percent, South South is 92.6 percent while South West is 93.3 percent”, she added.

While speaking, the Zonal Coordinator of the National Bureau of Statistics Northeast zone, Musa Mohammed, pointed out that the Multiple Indicator Survey, MICs, was an international Household survey programme developed by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF)

which is designed to collect statistically sound and international comparable estimates of key indicators that are used to access the situation of children and women in the areas of health, education, child protection and HIV/AIDS.

Mohammed said it can be used as data collection tools to generate information for monitoring the progress towards national goals and global commitments which is aimed at promoting the welfare of children and women such as MDGs and SDGs.

Samuel LUKA, Bauchi