AIDS Would Cease to be Public Health Emergency in Nigeria Soon, Says UNAIDS

•NEPWHAN holds candle light memorial for AIDS victims

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Joint United Programmes on HIVAIDS (UNAIDS) has said that with the provision of lifesaving medications and unwavering commitment to fight stigma and support those affected, a pathway to ending AIDS as a public health threat is now a possibility in Nigeria.

It also said world is fast getting to the stage of total new elimination of HIV infection based on current strides in scientific discoveries.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the Candlelight Memorial to remember and pray for people that died in Nigeria as a result of HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS Country Representative, represented by Gabriel Undelikwo, said that to bring down the trajectory of the pandemic, it is imperative that lifesaving medications can be reached without fear by all who need them.

“We know the pathway to end AIDS as a public health threat and to build a society in which we all thrive – to protect the rights of every person, stop stigma and discrimination.

“We need to stop seeing People Living with HIV as: “them” ‘others’, we are together; we are one in our collective efforts to end AIDS. We need to be more inclusive, show empathy and compassion.

“We must stand together to challenge misconceptions, educate our communities, and promote acceptance and understanding,” he said.

He said that long-acting medicines that only need to be injected a few times a year are increasingly available and could add to the solution but only if a human rights approach is taken to ensure its production in every part of the world.

“The report’s message is summed up in its title: “Take the rights path to end AIDS”. And for us in Nigeria, this translates to Sustaining the HIV Response and Stopping HIV Among Children to End AIDS in Nigeria by 2030As we gather here today, our hearts are united in remembrance, solidarity, and hope as we honor the memory of those we have lost to HIV/AIDS and stand with the millions living with HIV in Nigeria and worldwide.

“Our collective efforts will bring us closer to a world where everyone can live with dignity, respect, and health. Despite huge progress made in the HIV response, human rights violations are still preventing the world from ending AIDS.

“Of the 39.9 million people globally living with HIV, 9.3 million people are still not accessing life-saving treatment. Last year, 630 000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses, and 1.3 million people around the world newly acquired HIV.

“To bring down the trajectory of the pandemic, it is imperative that lifesaving medications can be reached without fear by all who need them. Science continues to innovate therapeutic and preventive options against AIDS,” he said.

Also addressing the gathering, the National Coordinator of Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) Abdul Kadir Ibrahim said the event is important to honour those who lost lives during the early days of the disease outbreak and show solidarity to those still living AIDS in the country.

Ibrahim said that going forward, there is need for increased resource allocation to help in sustaining those on treatment for AIDS and for advocacy campaigns against spread of new infections.

He said that Global Fund which has sustained it’s funding for AIDS intervention programmes in Nigeria needs to be encouraged and supported by government and other private sector entities.

“For Global Fund, they want to see more commitment what government is putting on the table that will justify what they need to allocate to this country, because counterpart funding is also very important.

“You can’t be collecting donor money, and then nobody knows what you are doing with your own internal resources. So, I’m not here to challenge anybody, but we are having a dialogue, talking in a soft language, because we want to save lives, and we have to fall back to our government.

“We can’t wait for somebody from America fighting for his own country, America first, and be expecting him to come and do the magic for us here,” he said.

On her part the representative of the Country Coordinating Mechanism for Global Fund in Nigeria, Winifred Abbo Agogo, said that recent statistics showed Nigeria is witnessing significant decline in new HIV infection which is a positive sign that the country is on progress march to reaching the 2030 target on elimination of HIV.