Beyond Drop In HIV/AIDS Cases

President Muhammadu Buhari on March 14, 2019, unveiled the 2018 Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey, which indicated that the number of persons living with HIV/AIDS in the country has dropped from 3.2 million to 1.9 million, thereby sliding lower to the fourth position globally from its second position in previous years.
The survey, launched by the Federal Government in June, 2018, and co-funded by the United States Government, The Global Fund and other critical stakeholders in the fight against the scourge, also indicated that the number of women is double the number of men living with the virus, just as it regrettably revealed that while Akwa Ibom beat Rivers as the state with the highest prevalence rate, the North has lower HIV/AIDS burden than the South.
Figures from the 2018 survey show that the states with the highest prevalence rate are Akwa Ibom 5.5%, Benue 5.3%, Rivers 3.8%, Taraba 2.9%, Anambra 2.4% and Abia 2.1% while the states with the lowest prevalence rate include Bauchi 0.5%, Zamfara 0.5%, Sokoto 0.4%, Yobe 0.4%, Jigawa 0.3% and Katsina 0.3%. This is a significant drop from the 2015 figure, where Rivers topped the chart of HIV//AIDS prevalence states with 15.5%, followed by Taraba 10.5%, Kaduna 9.2%, Nasarawa 8.1%, FCT 7.5%, Akwa Ibom 6.5%, Sokoto 6.4%, Oyo 5.6%, Benue 5.6%, Yobe 5.3%, Cross River 4.4%, Ondo 4.3% and Gombe 3.4% in that order.
While urging stakeholders not to relent in the fight against HIV/AIDS, but to increase the momentum in efforts to end the pandemic ahead of 2030, Buhari said the people should not celebrate yet, as almost a million Nigerians living with HIV are currently not on treatment. The president said that, going forward, a more coordinated and funded national response was needed to achieve epidemic control and end HIV in Nigeria, while directing the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the Federal Ministry of Health to undertake detailed consultations and consensus-building with key sectoral ministries, the legislature, governors of high-prevalence states, development partners and civil society organisations to chart a new path and build on the results of the survey.
In 2017, 3.2 million people were living with HIV/AIDS, with 2.8% adult HIV prevalence rate, 210,000 new HIV infections, 150,000 AIDS-related deaths, 34% adults on antiretroviral treatment, and 26% children on antiretroviral treatment. However, in 2014, almost 3.4 million Nigerians were living with HIV/AIDS, with recorded AIDS-related deaths of 174,300 and a national prevalence rate of 3.0%.
The Tide is particularly aware that sentinel survey since 1991 has shown a mixed bag in the prevalence rates in Nigeria. For instance, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research and NACA published a report indicating that in 1991, the prevalence rate was 1.8%, with 3.8% in 1993, 4.5% in 1996, 5.4% in 1999, and a peak of 5.8% in 2001.
We are also aware that the number of AIDS-related deaths has been of concern to many, with 20,000 recorded cases in 1990, 61,000 in 1995, 130,000 in 2000, 180,000 in 2005 and 2010, and stagnated at 150,000 from 2015 through 2017.
While The Tide acknowledges the decrease in the HIV-prevalence rate in the country as a result of the good progress in scaling up HIV treatment and prevention services in recent years, we are concerned that previous records show high death rates over the last 23 years, with no sign of ebbing to, at least, the 1990 figure. We are worried that figures of prevalence rate, number of persons living with the virus and HIV-related deaths in recent years do not add up when compared with the rising population of the country, especially given that there is a wide gap between the number of people living with the virus and those accessing antiretroviral treatment. We also demand a drastic reduction in the number of Nigerians susceptible to tuberculosis (TB) and hepatitis B, both of which have direct links to HIV/AIDS to reassure the people that investments made by governments in this regard are yielding desired results.
This is why we agree with Mr. President that it is not yet ‘Uhuru’ for Nigeria in its quest to end the HIV pandemic among its huge population of more than 180 million. We challenge all stakeholders, particularly the management of NACA and SACA in the various states as well as the federal and state ministries of health and their partners, to rejig strategies to further reduce the impact and prevalence of the scourge through adequate provision of antiretroviral drugs, making the drugs available and ensuring that those living and or infected with the virus have unfettered access to treatment centres. The Tide tasks governments at all levels to increase budgetary allocation to the health sector by not less than 25% to scale up funding of accelerated, coordinated efforts to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the country.
We insist that the more than one million people living with HIV/AIDS, who are yet to be captured in the treatment nexus should be reached and dragged into the net to further draw down the national prevalence rate. We think that while the world awaits a verifiable and sustainable cure for HIV/AIDS, Nigerians still trapped in the conundrum should be given the necessary opportunity to exit the trauma and stigma associated with the virus, through cascading sensitisation, testing, treatment and counselling in both urban and rural areas, so that no one infected with the virus is left behind.