The authorities could do more to contain the scourge
Nigerians joined the rest of humanity to celebrate the World AIDS Day 2024 with the theme, "Take the rights path: My health, my right!" It was another reminder that there is an urgent need for a renewed commitment in fighting the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV) burden in our country. While the World Health Organisation (WHO) is calling on global leaders and citizens to champion the right for addressing the inequalities that hinder progress in ending Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) as a public health threat by 2030, stakeholders in Nigeria don't seem to be paying much attention. Yet, the threat is huge.
At a recent ceremony to mark the launch of Preventing Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and Paediatric AIDS Acceleration Plan Committee, then Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa, painted a grim picture of the situation in Nigeria. "As you are aware, Nigeria contributes 25 per cent of the global burden of HIV transmission between mothers and their children," said Alausa who is now the Minister for Education. "Despite testing approximately four million pregnant women in 2023, our Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) and paediatric HIV coverage remains at about 35 per cent, falling significantly short of the 95 per cent target."
To compound the challenge, a recent report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) stated that Nigeria contributes 46 per cent of new infections among children in the West and Central African region and 18 per cent of the global figure. Furthermore, only about 30 per cent of children who need antiretroviral therapy (ART) are receiving it compared to 90 per cent of adults living with HIV. And only about a third of pregnant women living with the virus are receiving antiretroviral treatment to prevent its transmission to their infants.
To address this huge burden, health authorities in Nigeria must scale up their enlightenment campaigns, particularly in the rural areas, especially on the many risk behaviours that could lead to infections. Unprotected sex is said to account for about 80 per cent of new cases in the country. According to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), Nigeria ranks third among countries with highest burden of HIV infection in the world. But it is more prevalent among people in prisons and high-risk drug users. The UNODC studies on HIV prevalence in Nigerian prisons reveal that 2.8 per cent of inmates and 9 per cent of people who inject drugs (PWIDs) live with HIV/AIDS.
It is indeed worrisome that HIV/AIDS epidemic is still a serious public health issue with enormous negative impact on the health of Nigerians and the economy. Yet one of the key issues fingered by health authorities for the present scary situation is inadequate funding but there are other challenges. For instance, less than 50 per cent of people needing antiretroviral treatment have access while barely half the numbers of people living with HIV know their status.
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It is even more disturbing that critical agencies of government continue to understate the national prevalence rate of the disease as well as the total number of people living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (PLWHAN) because it wants the country to look good to the AIDS world. The annual allocation for health in Nigeria is far below the 13 per cent recommended by WHO and the 2001 African Union (AU) 15 per cent Abuja declaration. While the prevalence varies from one state to another, it is estimated that about two million Nigerians are infected with the virus.
The consequence of this situation is that several Nigerians die needlessly of a preventable disease that is also no longer life-threatening if properly managed.
