According to the Minister for Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, Nigeria is currently fourth (4th) among countries worst hit by HIV in the world. He stated that the current ranking of being fourth among the countries worst hit by the HIV epidemic is an improvement from its initial second position.
Prof. Isaac Adewole while speaking during a press briefing held at Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja after the announcement of the Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) results on Thursday 14th March, 2019 stated that Nigeria has now moved up to the fourth position after South Africa, India and Mozambique following the findings of the survey. He added that the current ranking is an improvement from the earlier estimate of people living with the virus was about 3.2 million to rank second after South Africa which ranks first with about 7.1 million people living with the virus.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2016 stated that Nigeria had the second largest HIV epidemic after South Africa, with an estimate of over 196,000 adolescents representing 10 per cent of the global burden of people living with HIV/AIDS. The 2016 WHO HIV survey puts Nigeria’s HIV prevalence rate at 1.4 per cent.
In June 2018, the Nigerian federal government launched the National AIDS survey to determine the true distribution of HIV and AIDS, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in the country. The survey which was conducted between July and December, 2018 reaching around 220,000 people in about 100,000 households revealed that about 1.9 million Nigerians are currently living with HIV, the figure obtained from the survey is lower than the previous estimate.
Prof. Isaac Adewole assured people living with the virus that NAIIS has showed that the country is able to effectively provide antiretroviral treatments for the all HIV patients in Nigeria and called on everyone infected with HIV to come out to get treatment so they can achieve viral suppression, especially pregnant women.
In his words he stated that, “We must ensure pregnant women have access to antenatal services and are tested during every pregnancy. We know we can support HIV-positive mothers, hence ensuring the next generation is free from HIV.”
President Muhammadu Buhari during the unveiling of the results assured Nigerians that the goal to end AIDS in Nigeria by 2030 is still feasible. According to the president, “For the first time, the end of AIDS as a public threat by 2030 is truly in sight for our country.” He urged every one not to relent but to increase the momentum and called on all Nigerians to work collectively and push for the last mile towards ending the HIV epidemic in the country.
While delivering his goodwill message, David Young, Charge de Affairs, Embassy of the United States of America acknowledge that Nigeria has made a remarkable put toward ending the HIV epidemic and praised the Nigerian government for the progress made so far with support from the United States. He futher stated that NAIIS is a project embarked on to solve the current challenge of HIV in the country. He also thanked all the field workers for their commitments towards the success of the NAIIS survey and President Muhammadu Buhari for personally showing commitment in ensuring that the survey was successful.
