AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
The United States Consul-General in Nigeria, Mr Will Stevens, on Tuesday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, expressed satisfaction over the HIV/AIDS awareness and control drive in Nigeria, saying that his country was encouraged to collaborate further in the fight against the disease.
Stevens spoke at the official launching of the accelerated progress in paediatrics and PMTCT (AP3) surge in Oyo State held at the Dilay Event Centre, Old Bodija, Ibadan.
Lauding the previous intiatives, he said, “We are working hand in hand with our Nigerian partners to combat HIV/AIDS and we are so proud of the incredible work we have achieved together.
“Just in the last two years, this team has doubled the number of people living with HIV on treatment to nearly 97per cent. Absolutely incredible.
“Today’s programme is about launching a programme to fix that final small gap in particular, focusing on children and teens, preventing mother to child transmission.
“Today, with the Oyo State Government, our partners would focus on preventing that and making sure that children (with HIV) get the treatment they need so that we get to UNIAIDS 95:95:95 Fast Track Strategy to end AIDS epidemic.”
In an earlier interview with journalists at the precinct of the event, Dr Ifeyinwa Onwuatuelo, Director, Technical Services, APIN Public Health Initiatives (APIN), said that “Definitely, we are not where we used to be. We have made a lot of progress especially in the last two years when we started the ART surge which I know Oyo State, like the data you saw there showed – before then when we started, we were 34 per cent thereabout but right now, we are at 77per cent coverage.
“That is a huge leap and I know that also like it is being rightly presented, we are at 77per cent coverage for the general population. But, if you drill down to the sub-population and various ages, you would find out that the children and the adolescents are not yet there. That is the purpose for this launch and we are believing and hoping that with the launch of the incident command team headed by the Permanent Secretary, they are going to do a great lot of work.
“The team that would be moving round in the communities in the two local government councils that we are starting with would be able to identify children that are positive and probably link them to ART services and also follow up to ensure that they are virally suppressed. I am very hopeful that this team, just like the feat we achieved two years ago, two years down the line when we come back here, all of us will rejoice over the great and marvellous work that they would have done.
“HIV is no longer a stigma. It is now like every other chronic illness just like we manage hypertension and diabetes. Anybody should not be stigmatized for having HIV, so if you notice anybody for instance your neighbour coughing, or malnourished children, you should be able to encourage them to go to the facility where they would get expert advice and management.”
It was noted at the event that efforts at combating HIV/AIDS was intensified even during the outbreak of COVID-19 with the aim of reducing the prevalence of the former.
The forum held that HIV AIDS should not be a death sentence and mothers should not be transmitting the virus to their children.
In meeting the UNIAIDS 95:95:95 Fast Track Strategy to end AIDS epidemic by 2030 in Oyo State, the number of adults and children currently receiving anti-retroviral; therapy is being intensifed.
The newly inaugurated Oyo State AP3 Steering Committee/Incident Command Team has the mandate to provide oversight function to the programme; review the human resources for health required for effective AP3 response in the state and advise government; review the stock level of ART commodities and advise the government on the need to bridge gaps and; identify barriers and bottlenecks within the health sector that may negatively affect the AP3 response and ensure that such barriers are mitigated.
