Plateau spends N90m to reduce HIV spread- PLACA boss
By Kingsley Chukwuka, Jos
The Plateau state Aids Control Agency (PLACA), says the state has recorded fewer persons living with the HIV virus, attributing the success recorded in combating the spread of the disease to Governor Simon Lalong, who provided N90 million to the agency in 2015 to fight the menace.
Executive Director of the agency, Sunday Markus, said in an interview withDaily Times in Jos at the weekend, that the 7.7 per cent ratio of persons living with HIV in 2010 has reduced to 1.6 per cent in 2019.
“The HIV rate in Plateau has reduced from 7.7 per cent in 2010 to 5.9 per cent in 2015 and in 2019 we now have a record reduction rate of 1.6 per cent.
“Our success story is as a result of Gov. Lalong’s effort by providing funds to the agency when he took over office in 2015. The N90 million funds he provided enabled us to complete our counterpart funds of the HIV phase two of the World Bank project. The funds were used to test people and place them on treatment if they test positive to the virus.
“This shows we are making progress, but we need not to celebrate yet because the tendency of rebounding is still possible if we don’t sustain the campaign,” the PLACA boss said.
Explaining further, Markus said if HIV patients are placed on treatment consistently for a period of six months, there are possibilities that the virus cannot be transferred to another person.
“Once someone who knows he has HIV goes for testing and is placed on treatment for about six months, he cannot transfer the virus, but this does not mean that the virus is no longer there, but it means it has become inactive as a result of the constant treatment.
“I call on our people to go for HIV testing because it is only through that that we can eliminate the disease from our state. When you test positive, you start taking drugs and if you are negative you avoid risky lifestyle, especially unprotected sex; this way we will stop completely the spread of the virus,” he added.
