Reducing HIV Deaths in Nigeria
Despite the campaigns on the management of HIV in Nigeria
Omoye got married in 2008 with the hope of living happily ever after. But November last year, she lost her better half. He died after being knocked down by series of illnesses, including malaria, tuberculosis and diarrhea. The sicknesses didn’t give him breathing space, they were coming in bouts, until he had no strength left to fight them off. The illnesses also came after Omoye and their two children, Nosa and Ivie, but they are presently fighting it so they can live.
Her husband didn’t have to die from these multiple illnesses if he had tackled the root cause. He was Human Immuno Virus (HIV) positive. But he hid it from the world. It only became clear to Omoye and his other family members that he was dying from the much dreaded disease, after the virus had graduated into Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS); a stage where several illnesses feel comfortable thriving till they take the last breathe out of their host.
But Omoye and her children, who are all HIV positive, didn’t want to go the way her husband went. They have been able to boost their immune system against the various associated health issues, through Anti Retro-viralDrugs ARD treatment plans, as well as lifestyle modifications.
Akin Alade of blessed memory was a young man full of life. He had hopes and aspirations. He thought of becoming one of the biggest architects the country has ever produced. But Akin died leaving his big dreams behind because he was scared of reporting his HIV status to health authorities, so that proper treatment arrangement would be planned out.
His mother said no one knew he was sick of the virus until his health depreciated to the point nothing was possible anymore. Akin did not access either of the federal or state government’s treatment programmes on HIV because he didn’t want people to know he was positive. He hid it and eventually died for not telling.
Omoye’s husband and Akin are just two among the 3.4 million Nigerians living with HIV, who have either been constrained from receiving treatments, or have outrightly decided not to be involved in the treatment plan.
Globally, it is estimated that there are about 34 million people living with HIV and
Despite the high rate of HIV prevalence in the country, what has become more alarming, according to experts, was that, of the 3.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)in the country, only a little above 500,000 persons were currently on ARD, placing other PLWHA in the country at the mercy of the disease.
According to statistics, as at 2014, there were 1,544,069 PLWHA who were eligible for ART, while only just above 500,000 were currently on ART, an estimate that suggests death and spread of the disease would not go down anytime soon, except more people are factored into the ARD treatment plan.
Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a guideline that everybody living with HIV from the point of diagnosis should be tested and treated, as this can help in reducing the virus strength in the human body.
Speaking at a scientific symposium in Lagos recently to mark this year’s World AIDS Day, Dr. Sylvia Adebajo from the Population Council, Abuja, noted that new infections in the country have increased to 227,518, annually, meaning about 632 persons were being infected daily in the country, which she attributed partly to the apathy among PLWHA to get treatment, as well as lack of general access of treatment, including the unavailability of the drugs, as well as government’s new policy that the drugs would no longer be given out free of charge.
According to her, the 2.9 million people not currently on treatment, mostly men, serve as reservoir for the spread of the disease. Adding that men, generally, do not go to hospital as much as women so they were the most difficult to reach.
She noted that government’s insistence that people will now have to pay for treatment would negatively affect the drive to see more people access HIV treatments, noting that this would cause more resistance and death from the disease.
It would be recalled that during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, free comprehensive HIV care was declared for 250,000 Nigerians. This represented the largest rollout in
A medical expert, Dr. Aliu Muktar, while questioning the rationale behind the sudden decision that PLWHA should be paying for the drugs, called on the government to as a matter of importance, revert to giving out treatment free of charge. “Apart from paying for their drugs, people are now being asked to pay for consultations, drug pick-ups, screening, among others. This will in no small measure become barriers that will hinder people from accessing treatment.”
Also lending her voice, the Chairperson, Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in
(NEPHWAN), Lagos Chapter, Amina Ali, explained that the new directive from the federal government, which mandates patients to pay for treatment at the bank was currently causing stigma and exposing more people to contracting tuberculosis.
“For people living with both HIV and TB, to be going about looking for where to make payment, this is even high risk for Nigerians. At the bank, they will ask you what you are paying for, and when you tell them, they will not treat you very cordially. Again, some of these people are sick so they are not supposed to be walking about freely”, she said.
On how to prevent new infection, an official of Lagos State AIDS Agency (LASACA), Dr. Oladipo Fisher, said early initiation of HIV positive people into antiretroviral drugs would decrease the rate of new infection,as well as reduce HIV-related illnesses and deaths.
Also on his part, the Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Prof. Innocent Ujah, regretted that despite efforts made on diagnosis and clinical management, the AIDS epidemic still claims an estimated two million lives each year, of which about 270, 000 are children.
“The multi – year theme for World Aids Day since 2012 has been “getting to zero with the three main sub-themes of zero new infections, zero deaths from AIDs – related illnesses and zero discrimination. Ujah who lauded the UNAIDS 90 – 90 -90 initiative said it was designed to have 90 per cent of all people diagnosed with HIV infection receive sustained ARV therapy and 90- per cent of all people receiving ARV will have viral suppression.
Check This Day newspaper for the full story.
Comments
Post a Comment