HEALTH minister Dr Osagie Ehanire has promised that Nigeria will be free of the HIV/Aids virus by the year 2030 in line with the joint United Nations programme which aims to end the scourge globally by then.
In 1994, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and Aids was launched as a vehicle for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the pandemic. Among other things, the agency promotes the greater involvement of people living with HIV principle and encourages and supports local and national organisations to expand and strengthen regional partnerships, coalitions and networks in the fight against Aids.
Speaking at the launch of a campaign to fight HIV/Aids by the National Agency for the Control of Aids (Naca) in Abuja, Dr Ehanire restated Nigeria’s commitment to achieving viral suppression through what he called detection, treatment, and suppression. He highlighted Nigeria’s achievements in HIV treatment interventions, started in 1986 when the epidemic was first reported in the country.
Gambo Aliyu, the head of Naca, expressed his satisfaction with Nigeria’s achievements in tackling HIV/Aids as official indicators showed the country’s HIV prevalence fell from 4.4% in 2005 to 1.4% in 2018. He ascribed the success to efforts by communities in partnership with the government and foreign assistance over the last 15 years.
