1.9m Nigerians living with HIV – NACA

The Nigerian HIV/AIDs Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) indicates that at least 1.9 million Nigerians are currently living with the disease, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has said.

It director-general, Sani Aliyu, stated this during the announcement of the NAIIS result in Abuja Thursday.

He said the percentage of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) in Nigeria, among the age group of 15-49 years, is 1.4 per cent (1.9 per cent among females and 0.9 per cent among males.)

Aliyu also said viral suppression among PLHIV aged 15 to 49 years old with access to treatment stands at 42.3 per cent (45.3 per cent among women and 34.5 per cent among men).

The South-south zone of the country has the highest HIV prevalence, at 3.1 per cent among those aged 15 – 49 years. HIV prevalence among the same age group in the North-central zone is 2.0 per cent, and in the South-east zone (1.9%).

The prevalence is lower in the South-west zone (1.1 per cent), the North-east zone (1.1 per cent) and the North-west zone (0.6 per cent).

According to him, it is important for all people living with HIV to get treatment and achieve viral suppression.

He said the government and its partners have what it takes to support people who are HIV-positive “to provide treatment, to protect their families and to help people live long and healthy lives.”

In his goodwill message, the executive director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, said the improved understanding of the country’s HIV epidemic would allow Nigeria to better reach people living with HIV and people at higher risk of acquiring HIV.

“I commend the government of Nigeria and its partners for conducting this ambitious survey, which provides us with a much better understanding of the country’s HIV epidemic.

“Let us use the results of this survey to better focus our delivery of HIV prevention, treatment and care services to the people in the greatest need and ensure that Nigeria gets on track to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030,” he said.

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