The group is urging the government to provide drugs for PLWHIV and test kits to ensure more people can be tested.
A group, Network of People Living with HIV / AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), has called on the federal government to implement its commitment to obtain life-saving anti-retrovirals for People Living with HIV (PLWHIV) in the country.
NEPWHAN National Coordinator Abdulkadir Ibrahim said in a statement to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday that access to these drugs and HIV testing devices is crucial to achieving the 90-90-90 goals that Nigeria has not achieved. achievement.
UNAIDS – and other foreign partners in 2014 had launched the 90-90-90 strategy which is an ambitious target to help end AIDS by 2030.
The goal was to diagnose 90 percent of people with advanced HIV, administer Antiretroviral Therapy (ARTs) for 90 percent of those diagnosed, and get rid of viral loads for 90 percent of those treated by 2020.
Struggle
At the start of the date, about 60 per cent of people living with the virus in Nigeria had been treated, data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show.
While the 60 per cent already show a deficit of around 30 per cent in line with the 2020 target, Nigeria is offline in other focus areas such as “90 per cent of the population is familiar with the their status at the end of the date “.
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A recent study by PREMIUM TIMES explained in detail some of the factors that may have contributed to Nigeria’s failure to achieve this target.
Some of the factors include COVID-19 pandemic, which has been largely blamed for disrupting a number of global health targets, frequency of mother-to-child transmission, HIV funding, stigma and discrimination, insensitivity, among others.
Dealas
Mr Ibrahim said for the country to still achieve these goals, the government needs to provide drugs for PLWHIV and testing devices to ensure more people get tested.
“These goals cannot be achieved without the government’s commitment to obtaining appropriate testing facilities from domestic sources until more Nigerians are tested and those who test positive for HIV treatment save lives,” “he said.
Mr Ibrahim also noted that approval by the Federal Ministry of Health in providing treatment for PLWHIV should not be delayed as part of the government’s efforts to meet the co-funding and peer-to-peer funding requirements.
“We are currently in talks with the Federal Ministry of Health to track the rapid deployment of the resources available in the Ministry to obtain HIV drugs and testing devices to keep Nigerians alive with HIV alive,” he said.
He said: “We hope that by the end of next week, permission and release will be granted by the Minister of Health and his team to restore Nigeria’s commitment and respect in the eyes of the international community. national. “