Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu
Buhari on Thursday in Abuja disclosed that the new report on HIV prevalence put
the people living with the dreaded disease currently in the country at 1.9
million.
Buhari spoke while formally
unveiling the findings of the 2018 Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey
(NAIIS) in Abuja.
Buhari noted during the
presidential announcement of the NAIIS result at the Banquet hall of the Aso
Rock that the results would form the future response to the country’s HIV and
AIDS epidemic.
He said that the new prevalence
of HIV and AIDS according to the result gives an estimate of 1.9 million people
living with HIV in Nigeria presently.
According to him, this is an
improvement to what was obtained in 2014, when the country was estimated to
have 3.1 million people living with the virus in the country.
Buhari also noted that the
results would provide the government with appropriate information that would
enable the country beat the 2030 target of ending the epidemic.
“This result will provide the
government with information to move forward in the HIV fight based on
scientific data. We are already a step ahead in this regard.
“However, we cannot celebrate yet
as we are more committed to ensuring that more people are placed on treatment.
“Now that we have the data, I
urge us all to work together to ensure that we deliver ahead of 2030,” he said.
He added that in line with his
administration commitment to healthcare, the government would ensure more
people living with HIV are put on free anti-retroviral treatment.
Buhari also appreciated the U.S.
government, PEPFAR, Global Fund and all partners that contributed to the
success of the survey.
He, however, tasked the Ministry
of Health and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) to work
closely with state governments with high HIV prevalence by ensuring that the
epidemic was drastically reduced.
The Federal Government launched
the National AIDS Survey on June 28, 2018, to determine the true distribution
of HIV and AIDS, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in the country.
The survey, which is the largest
HIV survey in the world, reached more than 250,000 respondents in nearly
100,000 households in the 774 local government areas of the country.
The survey was completed at the
end of December 2018.
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