From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, has reassured local and international partners involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria that Federal Government is committed to the global target of ending HIV/AIDS by 2030.
He, however, highlighted that inequalities in accessing HIV/AIDS services is major challenges that might work against the target, thus soliciting the support of all stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria is not left behind in the global effort.
The SGF who spoke through the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Maurice Mbaeri, at an event to commemorate the 2022 World Aids Day in Abuja, on Thursday, confirmed that significant progress has been made regarding the fight against HIV in Nigeria.
He noted that ongoing efforts to improve access to HIV services has resulted in significant reduction in new infections from over 103,000 in 2019 to 92,323 in 2021, and AIDS related deaths significantly declined from an estimated 264,463 persons in 2015 to about 51,000 as at October 2022.
He also confirmed that access to treatment experienced tremendous improvement since 2015, and also proclaimed that access to Anti-Retro Viral Drugs and treatment for HIV also increased more than two fold in the past five years, with about 1.8 million persons on treatment compared to about 800,000 persons on treatment in 2017.
“However, the achievements are heartwarming but HIV still remains an unfinished business because of barriers that pose a threat to ending AIDS by 2030 if not tackled headlong. I urge everyone to do all that is necessary to ensure equal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services devoid of stigma for children, adolescent and key populations who have been left behind,” he advised.
He urged all State Houses of Assembly that are yet to pass the anti-discrimination bill for HIV to speedily do so, and also appealed to State Governors to abolish the payment of user fees that limit access of pregnant women to ante-natal services during pregnancy.
Director General of National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA), Dr. Gambo Aliyu, in his welcome remarks, said the global theme for this year’s event was “equalize”, and the national theme was “equalize to end AIDS: equal access to treatment and prevention services”.
Dr. Aliyu said the “equalize” slogan is a call to action and a prompt urge for all stakeholders to address the inequalities holding back progress in ending AIDS, hence the need for increased availability, quality and suitability of services for HIV treatment, testing and prevention so that everyone is served.
He added: “We have only eight years left before the 2030 goal of ending AIDS as a global health threat. Economic, social, cultural and legal barriers leading to inequalities must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Indeed, the end of AIDS can only be achieved if we tackle the inequalities which drive it.”
He confirmed that Nigeria was focused on achieving epidemic control with about 90 per cent of PLHIV already identified and currently on treatment. “We have also recorded significant growth in key population treatment sites from 10 in 2017 providing treatment to about 16,000 PLHIV to 118 sites in 2021 with coverage of over 220,000.”
The event also provide opportunity for the launch of the online donation portal of the HIV Trust Fund to ensure no one is left behind in the collective effort to end AIDS by 2030.