The Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Prof. John Idoko, said on Thursday that N262 billion would be spent to combat HIV/ AIDS in the next two years.
Idoko said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
He said that 80 per cent of the money would be used to buy drugs, test kits, condoms and reagents for conducting tests at the clinics and put more people on drugs.
The Director-General explained that the Comprehensive Response Plan was aimed at ending AIDS in Nigeria by 2030.
Idoko said: “If we do all these, the virus would be suppressed from many people living with HIV in Nigeria.
“When we attain this suppression,
people living with HIV would not
transmit the virus despite the little
presence of the virus in some organs of the body.”
Idoko also appealed to people living
with HIV/AIDS to report sharp practices in redemption centres to NACA.
“We have a toll free line 6222 on Airtel and Etisalat for anybody, anywhere to report the sharp practice experience at any of our redemption centres.
“As soon as we have the report we
would act promptly.
“We don’t want people with this disease not getting the drugs; we want the people to take the drugs 95 per cent of the time.
“Anti-Retroviral-Vaccine (ARV) is free,” he said.
He attributed stigma and discrimination as part of the reasons for the sharp practices at some places.
“Many vulnerable states had between 25 and 30 redemption centres but people would like to travel to a far away distance to register for the ARV.
“The transport fare, accommodation and other ancillary expenses are
unnecessary.
“Clinics should also advise the patients to be taking their drugs where it is closer to them; HIV/AIDS should be seen as a common ailment such as hypertension or diabetics,” Idoko advised.
He added that Nigeria had passed a
stage where patients should not own up to the disease and go for their drugs.
“HIV is no longer a death sentence now; if one takes the drugs and takes it well; one could live a complete normal life,” he said.
Idoko said the HIV/AIDS related deaths were mostly from people who did not test for the virus due to stigma.
He said that 40 per cent of people who had HIV did not know they had it until when they became too sick and they subsequently die of AIDS.
NAN recalls that the National
Coordinator, Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), Mr Edward Ogenyi, as saying the gap between people living with the virus and the actual number of those on treatment
was too wide.
“3.4 million Nigerians are living with HIV out of which 1.8 that require the anti-retroviral drugs, only slightly above 600,000 patients have access to the drugs,” said Ogenyi.
The coordinator emphasised that:
“People are dying on daily basis as a
result of non-access to treatment on
the disease.
“We are appealing to the President to wake up to the challenges of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, fight against HIV/AIDS moreseriously.”
(NAN)
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