Nigeria: HIV/Aids - Sustaining the Gains

6 December 2015

As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark the World AIDS Day last week, there were cheering reports of a reduction in infection rate. Reports also showed that the issue of stigmatization, which was one of the greatest problems encountered by people living with the disease in the early years, had been remarkably tackled. In a statement to commemorate the day, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said 3.4 million people in the country are infected with the virus, out of the 36.9 million persons living with the disease around the world. He added that currently, Nigeria is treating about 800,000 people living with the virus with antiretroviral drugs, and that it is expected that the figure will significantly decrease with the implementation of 2014 treatment guideline.

He noted that the HIV/AIDS scourge has become one of the key drivers of change for public health and public health policy with enormous negative impact on the health of Nigerians and the economy. He said so far, HIV prevalence among youths (15-24 years) showed a consistent decline from 6.0 per cent in year 2001 to 2.9 per cent in 2004 which is suggestive of a reduction in new infections. National Agency for the Control of AIDS Director-General, Prof. John Idoko, on his part, said "Nigeria's AIDS response has gained a steady momentum in the past four years. We have managed to turn the tide.

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