The Director Normal of the Nationwide Company for the Management of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Temitope Ilori, Tuesday stated about 1.6 million out of the 2 million folks dwelling with HIV are at present receiving therapy in Nigeria.
Dr. Ilori made this declaration at a press convention in in commemoration of the 2024 World AIDS Day, themed: “Take the Proper Path: Maintain HIV Response, Cease HIV Amongst Kids, and Finish AIDS in Nigeria by 2030.”
She stated Nigeria has an HIV prevalence charge of 1.4% among the many basic inhabitants aged 15–64, with an estimated two million folks dwelling with HIV.
“The nation continues to face vital challenges in stopping mother-to-child transmission of HIV,” she stated.
World AIDS Day is normally noticed globally on December 1st to boost consciousness about HIV and AIDS and to honour the lives affected by the epidemic.
Ilori said additional that this yr’s commemoration would place particular emphasis on stopping AIDS amongst kids and elevating consciousness in regards to the sustainability and possession of the HIV response.
The UNAIDS 2023 report exhibits that roughly 160,000 kids aged 0–14 live with HIV, with 22,000 new infections and 15,000 AIDS-related deaths occurring every year.
Regardless of progress, Nigeria’s prevention of mother-to-child transmission and paediatric HIV protection stays under 33 per cent, nicely under the 95 per cent goal.
She said that following a complete knowledge evaluation in 2021, NACA joined a global initiative and developed the International Alliance Motion Plan to Finish AIDS in Kids.
“Collectively, allow us to recommit to the imaginative and prescient of an AIDS-free Nigeria by 2030. Ending AIDS is not only a goal; it’s a testomony to our resolve, compassion, and unity as a nation,” she stated.
She added that NACA had been working with stakeholders in co-creating a sustainability roadmap to make sure the continuity of the HIV response within the occasion of donor assist withdrawal.