Editorial
Sustaining Focus On AIDS
Last Wednesday, December 1, 2021, was World AIDS Day (WAD). It is a day reserved each year to draw attention to the impact of the dreaded disease and the efforts made to contain it. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that breaks down the immune system that helps the body fight infections.
Without treatment, an HIV-infected person is likely to develop a serious illness known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). At this point, the immune system is too weak to combat further diseases and infections. If not treated, life expectancy with AIDS is approximately three years. However, with antiretroviral treatment, HIV can be well controlled and life expectancy almost equal to that of a person who has not contracted it.
On WAD, everyone unites to show support for people living with the virus, remember those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses, and inform people that HIV is still very much living among us. The theme of the WAD 2021 is “End Inequalities, End AIDS” which aims to confront the inequalities that drive AIDS and to reach people who are currently not receiving essential HIV services.
Inequalities that stand in the way of progress in the AIDS response arise when HIV interacts with complex fault lines between social, economic, legal and health systems. They are often compounded by laws and policies and result in unequal results for HIV, discriminatory and oppressive practices, and violence. There is a pressing need to end economic, social, cultural and legal inequalities if we are to end AIDS by 2030.
Many inequalities that have facilitated the AIDS pandemic are worsening and continue to promote the spread of HIV in many parts of the world, without excluding Nigeria. Sexual and gender-based violence which many nations are unable to end, continue to be major drivers of the AIDS epidemic, with immediate and long-term consequences for individuals, families, communities and societies.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), since the first case of HIV was recorded in Congo in the 1920s, it has claimed over 36.3 million lives across the world while about 37.7 million are still living with the disease as it continues to be a major global public health challenge.
A recent report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) found that a child became infected with HIV every two minutes in 2020. The report also indicates that at least 300,000 children were newly infected with HIV in 2020, while an additional 120,000 died of AIDS-related causes over the same period.
Sadly, in 2019, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) ranked Nigeria as the third most burdened country in the world for HIV infection. More than 1.9 million Nigerians are currently infected with the virus in all parts of the country. The UN agency has also revealed that HIV and AIDS are far more prevalent among prisoners and high-risk drug users, particularly people who inject drugs (PWIDs).
Lack of access to antiretroviral therapy, in addition to limited prevention efforts, is one of the leading causes of death for HIV-positive patients. It is gratifying to note that the director-general, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) in Nigeria, Aliyu Gambo, said the agency had recorded more success in the last three years than it had ever achieved in nearly two decades and was optimistic that the virus would be controlled in the next 18 months.
Unfortunately, stigmatisation remains a challenge in the fight against the disease. Nigerians must be aware that this disease is not a death sentence. In light of the above, we call on governments at all levels to step up information and public education on the dangers of HIV/AIDS. State and rural health centres should be given free HIV drugs.
NACA should be adequately funded to carry out its mandate to enable it to fund research efforts on HIV/AIDS. We reiterate that the Covid-19 pandemic has also affected the global response and collaborative effort to stem the spread of HIV. Religious leaders have a major role to play in stopping the disease because abstinence is a major factor in reducing the prevalence of the disease in the country.
Along with federal authorities, the River State Government has made significant progress in addressing the pandemic. This has greatly helped to reduce the prevalence rate of the disease in the state. The state Deputy Governor, Dr Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, corroborated this in a goodwill message to mark the WAD.
Banigo urged HIV/AIDS victims to avail themselves of the free services in all 23 LGAs of the state and revealed that the AIDS control programme had achieved 96% viral suppression for people currently on treatment. She also said the decision by Governor Nyesom Wike to abolish user fees for PLWAs had provided relief to those infected and affected.
States need to pay greater attention to contributing to the HIV response. The Federal Government should make funds available to state agencies for the coordination and monitoring of the HIV/AIDS response. We have not made significant progress in this regard, and it is an issue that the country must focus on over the next year, as states are important to ending the threat.
To curb the disease in Nigeria, every Nigerian should know their HIV status. While those who have tested and proved negative should be thought how to maintain that position for the rest of their lives, Nigerians with the virus have to prevent it from multiplying in order not to put others at risk. Periodic testing is key as it will progressively eliminate the virus.