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Wednesday, April 24, 2024
HIV

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Nigerian Business Coalition Against AIDS (NiBUCAA) has promised to support the Federal Government in providing Antiretroviral (ARV) therapy to boost treatment and care for people living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS).

The executive secretary, Gbenga Alabi, said the move was in line with the ‘Communities Make the Difference’ theme of the 2019 World AIDS Day.

World AIDS Day, marked on December 1 since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness on the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease.

According to him, ARVs, which suppress the HIV, stop the progression of the disease and prevent onward transmission, are very expensive, with the United States (U.S.) government supporting Nigeria in its provision.

Once the U.S. pulls out of the supply of the drugs, Nigeria will suffer great loss, he added.

“In fact, more than 70 per cent of ARVs in Nigeria are provided by U.S. government and there is need for us, at this point, to try to own it and sustain it.

“So, ownership and sustainability is the sole responsibility of the government. But government cannot do it alone; that is why the private sector has to come on board to complement government’s effort,” he said.

He said the private sector was also assisting in the provision of testing kits to health facilities, as well as helping carriers to manage the virus.

“As we commemorate the 2019 World AIDS Day, NiBUCAA is making a call for increased access to HIV testing and increased uptake of HIV testing.

“Around the world, 37 million people are living with HIV, yet a quarter does not know that they have the virus.

“Knowing your HIV status has many advantages. It is an essential entry point to HIV treatment, prevention, care and support services. People who test positive are linked immediately to ARV therapy. There has been a good progress on HIV testing and treatment driven by a strong growing commitment to achieve 90-90-90 targets by 2020,” he said.

Alabi added that as part of global efforts to end AIDS by 2030, the coalition would provide free HIV testing services to 5,000 people across various 20 councils in Lagos State for eight consecutive days from Monday, November 25.

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The federal government has launched the Undetectable equals Untransmittable (U=U) campaign to promote the benefit of treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS and encourage them to access treatment.

Launching the campaign in commemoration of the 2019 World AIDS Day (WAD) with theme, ‘Communities Make the Difference’ on behalf of government, through the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) in conjunction with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Senate President Ahmed Lawan said Nigeria was launching an important and strategic campaign to help the country achieve zero new HIV infections and reduce stigma for Nigerians living with HIV.

He said, Nigeria is reaffirming its commitment through all the relevant communities to make the difference in the National HIV response to attain the 90-90-90 goal by the end of 2020.

The Director General, NACA, Dr Aliyu Gambo said, the theme of this year’s WAD acknowledged the essential role communities play in the global HIV response.

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In a bid to make this year’s World AIDS Day highly impactful, the Nigeria Red Ribbon Coalition, a strategic public-private sector alliance, organised a novelty football match yesterday in Lagos to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and also provide free HIV Testing and Counselling services.

The celebrity football match featured ex-international football stars who have carved a niche for themselves in the soccer sporting world as well as notable celebrities in the Nigerian music and film industry.

Leading the Ex-international stars were Emmanuel Babayaro (health Ambassador and Ex-Super Eagles Goalkeeper), Ifeanyi Udeze, Victor Agali, Emmanuel Okocha, Abdul Isah and several others. Representing the movie and music industry were stars like Belinda Effah (actress and presenter), John Njamah (actor/movie producer), ID Cabassa (popular music producer whose real name is Olumide Ogunade), Sound Sultan (a Nigerian rapper, singer-songwriter, actor, comedian and recording artist, born Olanrewaju Fasasi), and a host of other celebrities who took time out of their busy schedules to join hands in pushing back the scourge of our common adversary – HIV.

‎The coalition convened by Coca-Cola , Nigeria comprises Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF), Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative (YEDI), Society for Family Health (SFH).

Declaring the match open, the convener and Community Affairs Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Emeka Mba, reiterated the company’s resolve to support grassroots innovative approaches aimed at improving lives nationwide. He noted that the Coalition which started last year, was building on the successes made at the inaugural edition in 2015 by mobilizing and sensitizing people to know their status with the provision of free HIV testing services in a friendly environment, tackling issues of stigmatization, discrimination and fear of getting tested, promoting social inclusion and adequate care for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and stimulating a larger stakeholder involvement.

Mba added that no individual, government, or organisation can single-handedly make meaningful progress in the fight against HIV/AID, hence the need for a coalition.

In her remarks, the Executive Director, Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative (YEDI), Anu Ishola underscored the coalition’s strategy of leveraging each party’s organisational strength and corporate core competences that has brought the pan-Nigeria alliance thus far.

“We decided to have a strategic alliance that boasts of credible NGOs like Society for Family Health, Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF), YEDI and other private sector partners like Ford Foundation, Federal Palace Hotel, Owu SportsWear, etc. Coupled with celebrity advocacy – with a star-studded Novelty match on the side, we have been able to reach out to a large spectrum of people who have come out not just to watch football, but also to voluntarily get tested and counselled for HIV.”

She expressed gratitude to global beverage giant Coca-Cola – the chief funder of the initiative and MAC AIDS as well as other partners who are contributing immensely to the fight against HIV/AIDS.

On the impact of a novelty match in combating HIV, the leader of the ex-International who is also a health Ambassador, Emmanuel Hyacinth Babayaro, older brother of former Chelsea and Newcastle United player Celestine Babayaro said:”We are leveraging celebrity advocacy and role modelling to mobilize people because behind every celebrity or role model, there are a thousand and one people who would like to emulate them.

So we have all of them here today for free because they believe in this cause and they want to contribute their quota. Young people came out here today to be tested and get accurate information about HIV/AIDS. Our target this year is to provide free HIV Counselling and Testing to 18,000 persons across 11 states in Nigeria including Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Edo, Enugu, FCT Abuja, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, and Oyo with a combination of activities including this novelty match. I’m happy to be a part of this.”

In her views, Iwalola Akin-Jimoh the Executive Director of YEF, the novelty match and other activities were important as they serve as ways of reminding the Government, private sector organisations and the general public that HIV has not gone away and that collectively, there is the need to increase awareness, fight prejudice and stigmatization, improve awareness/sensitization channels and develop appropriate funded programmes to maintain the drive towards eradicating the scourge.

The fun-filled novelty match which drew a huge crowd within the Lagos Island environs, including Mr. Ibrahim Umoru, Executive Director, Good Health Educators Initiative and former coordinator, Lagos State Chapter of the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, ended 5-3, in favour of ex-internationals who played against celebrities and corporate Nigeria. There was also a celebrity placard display with various messages to raise awareness about HIV as well as o one-minute in respect of those who have died as a result of the dreaded virus.

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At least 500 Nigerians die of HIV/AIDs daily, with an average new infection of 600 people every day, says Sani Aliyu, Director General, National Agency for the Control of AIDs, NACA.

Mr. Aliyu gave the figure during an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, about HIV/AIDs, aired on Saturday night.

He said although the country has achieved great heights with the support of government and the international community, a lot of help is still needed from private individuals to address the challenges posed by the existence of HIV/AIDs in Nigeria.

Mr. Aliyu noted that Nigeria is still the second most affected country with HIV/AIDs, globally behind South Africa. He called on government and stakeholders to ensure increased education of the girl child and women empowerment as a means of addressing the challenge.

He added that the global theme for this year’s event to mark the World AIDs day, “Hands up for HIV/AIDs prevention,” was adjusted for Nigeria, to match with the country’s current prevalence rate of 3 per cent.

“You know that for Nigeria the topic for this year is not ‘hands up’; when you say hands up you are giving up. It’s ‘hands on’ for us in Nigeria,” said Mr. Aliyu.

About 72,000 adolescents are reportedly living with HIV in Lagos State, officials have said.

Also according to the Borno State’s coordinator for HIV/AIDs, no fewer than 5,000 Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in 27 camps in the state are currently living with the virus.

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A national scientific conference on HIV prevention has been organised to showcase the achievements of the response to AIDS in Nigeria.

The landmark conference organised by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS is part of activities to commemorate World AIDS Day 2016, under the theme Hands on for HIV prevention.

The conference has been slated to take place in Abuja, with participants drawn from relevant government departments and agencies, research institutions, the private sector, development partner agencies and representatives of people living with or affected by HIV.

According to the Acting Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr. Kayode Ogungbemi, the conference’s theme, ‘Hands on for Prevention’, signifies the fact that Nigeria’s national response aligns with the present global direction of increasing HIV prevention efforts.

He said, “The conference aims at showcasing the achievements, discussing the lessons learnt and seeking to set the pace for tackling prevention gaps.

“The Nigeria HIV Prevention Conference 2016 will bring together a range of experts to advance knowledge, present new research findings, as well as promote and enhance scientific and community collaborations.

“It will also be a platform for discussions on development of new strategies for addressing HIV, especially in the area of prevention.”

The Chairperson, Organising Committee, Dr. Akudo Ikpeazu, added, “We welcome participants from all sectors: government, business community, civil society, academia and others.

“It is my hope that participants will all take advantage of the conference and the opportunities it presents for networking, forming new collaborations and strengthening old partnerships to strengthen HIV prevention efforts.”

Presentations at the conference have been organised under four knowledge areas: behavioural, biomedical, structural, and key population issues.

 PUNCH. 

 

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Fear has gripped commercial sex workers in Lagos, following reports that the 67-year-old Irish national, Mr. James Turner, accused by his 31-year-old Nigerian girlfriend of deliberately infecting her with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV, was a frequent visitor to clubs.

In fact, some of them claimed to know some of the ladies the Irish national had picked at one time or the other.

It will be recalled that Mr. Turner, was dragged to the Ikeja Police Division last week, by his Benue State-born girlfriend, Helen, after he reneged on his promise to settle her with N2.5 million, after discovering that she had been infected.

Helen, who insisted that her lover of eight years deliberately infected her with the virus, told Vanguard that she stumbled on the anti-retroviral drugs Turner was secretly taking, four months after his status was confirmed.

She also claimed to have caught Turner pants down with one of her girlfriends in his apartment, after he was confirmed to be living with HIV.

Although Turner claimed Helen infected him with the virus, he, however, told policemen during interrogation that he had so far slept with about six ladies, especially commercial sex workers, since he was confirmed to be HIV positive.

Security sources, who are said to have details of the clubs visited, refused to reveal same to Vanguard.

Helen’s friend, too

Similarly, Helen’s girlfriend, who she claimed Mr. Turner slept with, is also living in fear. The lady (names withheld) was said to have been informed of the development through Vanguard’s publication yesterday.

She was said to have immediately visited an undisclosed hospital to confirm her status. But at press time, the result of the test could not be ascertained.

Police sources hinted that the lady could be invited in the course of the ongoing investigation.

However, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmus, told Vanguard yesterday that the command was still awaiting expert opinion to conclude the charge against the suspect.

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