Nation
HIV: APYIN, UNFPA Seek Viral Load Suppression In Youths
The Association of Positive Youths Living with HIV and AIDs in Nigeria (APYIN) says it is working with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to address HIV viral load suppression among Adolescents and Young People (AYP) in Kaduna State.
The Coordinator of the association in the state, Mr Sambo Heman, told The Tide’s source in Kaduna in commemoration of the 2022 World AIDS Day that one of the key challenges of the over 10,000 AYP living with HIV and AIDS in the state is low adherence to the drugs.
The source reports that World AIDS Day is annually celebrated on December 1 in UN member states since 1988 as an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic, caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who died of the disease.
The celebration has “Equalise” as theme for 2022.
AIDS is a chronic immune system disease caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which damages the immune system and interferes with the body’s ability to fight diseases.
HIV can be spread through contact with infected blood, semen, or vaginal fluids.
There’s no cure for HIV/AIDS, but medications can control the infection and prevent disease progression and people taking HIV medications may not have other symptoms for years.
Some people with HIV develop flu-like symptoms two to four weeks after getting the virus and as the virus multiplies and destroys immune cells, symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes may occur.
If left untreated, HIV typically turns into AIDS in about eight to 10 years.
Heman, therefore, said APYIN, with support from UNFPA, is working to address non-adherence to drugs and lack of viral suppression among AYP in the state.
He added that the intervention was being piloted in Kaduna North and Chikun Local Government Areas of the state with high burden of AYP living with the virus and nonadherence to drugs.
The coordinator noted that drugs were always available with no stockout, adding however that the AYP were not adhering to the drugs, leading to low viral load suppression among young people.
He explained that “the initiative provides a platform for a case conference with all unsuppressed adolescents and young people living with HIV and AIDS.
“We meet and discuss issues around why they are not adhering to the drugs and why those adhering to the drugs are not attaining viral load suppression.
“This intervention is very critical for us, particularly to address the challenge of low suppression of viral load among AYP.
“One of the issues that came out during our conversation is stigma even within households, while others do not even know why they are taking the drugs.
“If we fail to address this problem to ensure viral suppression we will fall back to yesterday and revert all progress made so far.”
The coordinator added that another issue that came out was that a significant number of AYP were abusing drugs.
He explained that the drugs were interacting with the antiretroviral drugs, thereby inhibiting its effectiveness leading to reduced viral load suppression.
He said plans were being concluded to work with Kaduna State Bureau for Substance Abuse, Prevention and Treatment and other government agencies to address the challenge, adding that stigma had remained one of the major challenges affecting people living with the virus in schools, including households.
The association, with support from UNFPA, UNICEF and other partners, is working with families, religious and community leaders, school managers and administrators to address the issue of stigma and discrimination, he said.
One of the AYP, Ms Fatima Abdulazeez, told NAN that she is living a quality life because of adherence to drugs.
Abdulazeez, a graduate of microbiology, however, said she is still finding it difficult to fully disclose her HIV status because of the fear of being stigmatised.
“I am living in fear due to the uncertainty of how people will act if they know my status. Notwithstanding, I am still urging residents to get tested, know their status and begin treatment if positive,” she said.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
