HIV: National survey on AIDS out by March 2019

…75 per cent of the country covered 

 The result of the national survey of people living with HIV/AIDS will be out early next year, the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Sani Aliyu has said.

Aliyu who spoke yesterday in Abuja while addressing the media on the 2018 World AIDS day celebration also said works will be completed by this December.

In Nigeria, 2018 World AIDS Day commemoration is taking place under the theme: Know your status.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the First World AIDS Day. Events to commemorate the 2018 World AIDS Day have commenced with a call on all stakeholders to work towards realising the importance of HIV testing in order for people to know their HIV status. 

World AIDS Day is held each year on 1st December. It is an opportunity for every community to unite against HIV, show support for people living with the disease and remember those who have passed away due to AIDS.

NACA DG revealed that that the survey has been carried out 27 states of the Federation, which represent 75 per cent of the entire work.

The survey was embark upon early this year to determine the actual number of Nigerians living with the virus. The agency had argued that previous records branded by the country was based on guest work and not through a verifiable means.

He said: “The result of the survey will be out hopefully by March. We have done at least 75per cent of the 36 states in the federation. We are now in web 5 and 6 of the survey. And by the end of this week and early next week we will have only about 6 states left to go. And we expect the field work will finish by 21st of December.

” There may be a need to do some cleaning up in early January. We are now dealing with states that have either difficult terrain or security concerns. So we are going on to Borno, Yobe, Zamfara and Benue. But you will get the results and the result will be interesting and it will provide us with more leverage to get more resources for the HIV programme,” he said.

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On end Mother to child transition of HIV, Aliyu noted that the country is still facing some challenges as “only about 50% of pregnant women come for ante natal care.”

He however said the agency will continue to embark on awareness programmes so as to get more pregnant women attend ante natal care.

Speaking on the World AIDS Day, he said “it is an opportunity to remind the public of the importance of testing for HIV. Having a HIV test is an essential step towards accessing life-saving HIV treatment. As we progress towards putting everybody living with HIV in Nigeria on treatment, NACA will continue to push for increased resources to be dedicated for HIV prevention activities, which include improved access to HIV testing and widespread availability of self-test kits. Get a HIV test today, it may be the most important decision you take and could save your life.”

“The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day “Know your status” is particularly apt since the Country’s 2017 treatment data shows that the main challenge towards attainment of the country’s targets is that of having many people living with HIV in Nigeria know their status.UNAIDS launched the new report on ‘Knowledge is power’ that highlights how providing a variety of testing options and services, such as community-based testing and home-based testing, can help mitigate many of the logistical, structural and social barriers to HIV testing”said the UNAIDS Country Director, Nigeria, Rex Mpazanji.              

One of the highlights of this year’s national commemoration will be a formal ceremony with participation from high level government officials, representatives of people living with HIV, development partners, as well as adolescents and young people. Participants will listen to speeches on issues related to HIV testing under the theme ‘know your status’.

A series of activities are planned across the country, including voluntary HIV testing and counselling on the streets, markets, church, mosque, IDP camp and other places. A strong social media engagement is underway to link people living with HIV, young people, women and girls’ networks and associations with decision makers at all levels.