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In March 2019, Nigeria’s Federal Government indicated that national HIV prevalence in the country was 1.4% among adults aged 15–49 years.
Before the 2019 data, previous estimates had indicated a national HIV prevalence of 2.8% which means the scourge is on a downward trend.
Meanwhile according to UNAIDS and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS there is an estimated 1.9 million people living with HIV in Nigeria.
Prevention, they say is better than cure, Nigerians must always avail themselves of the opportunity to get tested whenever the opportunity presents itself.
‘Health is wealth’ is a popular saying but a leading commercial institution in the country; Access Bank Nigeria PLC in collaboration with other stakeholders has taken the saying beyond words to act and save lives.
The collaboration recently saw The ENDFund, Nigeria Business Coalition Against AIDS, NiBUCAA and Hacey Health Initiative in a coalition to carry out free HIV tests, counseling and treatment for participants at the Lagos City Marathon which has come to stay as an annual event..
The collaboration also saw participants and the general public exposed to sensitisation on healthy living and how to reduce the risk of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDS) in Nigeria and Africa as a continent.
Speaking at the awareness campaign, Head of Sustainability and Corporate Communications, Access Bank PLC, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan said that over 3,000 persons were sensitized on best practices to manage their health and wellbeing.
“What we have done at Access Bank, a leader in sustainability is to partner with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we are able to get as many people tested, let people know their statuses and take the relevant action that they need to take,” she said.
Continuing, she said, “Access Bank Lagos City Marathon is done to promote healthy lifestyles. It not only places Nigeria on a global scale, it also helps ensure that we build a model that works locally in Nigeria and of course, but it also helps to ensure that our people are more aware of their health statuses and that they change their lifestyles to healthier lifestyles.
“This is a gathering of hundreds of thousands of people and forms the right platform for us as well to then utilise and advocate on issues of significant health importance or challenge. You may be aware that about 53,000 people die from AIDS on an annual basis in Nigeria. There is a need to bring down this figure, if possible to zero. there is a need for us to prevent new infections. there is a need for people that are infected already to get tested. know their statuses and go get treatment so that they can lead normal lifestyles,” she said.
The Lagos marathon was a great platform to address the multitude on topical health issues which has been phenomenal for years. For instance over 50,000 patients are lost to HIV/AIDS and the complications and there is the need to reduce the scourge, prevent new infections and also prevent mother-to-child transmission only possible through early detections which Lagos Marathon has continued to champion via its large platform.
Rhoda Robison is the Executive Director, HACEY Health Initiative. At the event, she explained how her organisation throws its weight to support the awareness.
“We provided free HIV counsel and testing as well as free condoms for over 3,000 people that attended the marathon. This started from the kits collection event to the marathon day itself.
“It’s not about testing alone, it’s about providing them information to continuously prevent HIV infection and for those who are positive for them to stick with their ARC treatment so that they achieve virus suppression.
“HACEY Health Initiative has been working with and preventing HIV over 10 years so we have been working for over a decade and we have been working with Access bank for the pass four to five years in ensuring and promoting HIV testing and counseling. We connect those who are tested positively to different centers, we have achieved a lot, we’ve reach over 10,000 people through our messages over the years,” she explained..
Robinson also stated that her organsation is working towards having 90 percent of the population can know their HIV status.
“We are working towards achieving the 909090 goal which means that 90% of people know their HIV status, 90% of those who know their HIV status can access treatment and then 90% of those who access treatment achieve viral suppression, in other words, their viral load is undetectable which means that transmission is obsolete.
“We need to start working together as partners but from the non-profit sector, and the private sector and the government towards achieving zero HIV new infections in Nigeria and ensuring that more people have access to antiretroviral treatment.”
Africa regional Adviser for ENDFUND, Oyetola Oduyemi however expressed satisfaction stating that the collaboration has helped to reduce diseases.
“ENDFUND is the largest private philanthropic organisation focusing on tackling diseases including bacteria, viral and parasitic infection. About 40 percent of patients are in Africa,” he said, adding that, “Access Bank which is obviously the most respected bank in Nigeria, maybe indeed Africa generously gave us the platform to spread the word on END disease to talk about preventing this disease that are easily preventable and treatable and we are very appreciative for this.”
“We’ve taken it upon ourselves to rally round to stakeholders to give the diseases a voice, to let people know what they are, how they can be prevented. they can be prevented, they can be treated and we believe that by shining the light on these diseases, we can reduce the burden.
“The Sustainable Development Goals actually specifically mentions HIV/AIDS, malaria and the Neglected Tropical Diseases. So we have a mandate as a country to kill off the neglected tropical diseases by 2030,” she stated.
Also at the event, Executive Secretary, National Business Coalition Against Aids, (NIBUCAA) Gbenga Alabi, said “Access bank has created an opportunity for NIBUCAA to latch on this event to provide HIV testing services for the general population. More importantly, for athletes and other people that want to know their HIV status.
“The national population is 1.4 but then a lot of Nigerians are yet to know their status. So we are actually using this opportunity to encourage people to know their HIV status,” he said.
However, there must be political will and adequate policy to be put in place and also implemented regarding HIV/AIDS in Nigeria in order to keep the prevalence on the downward trend.
The Federal Ministry of Health is one of the Ministries in the country saddled with the responsibility of formulation and implementation of policies related to health.
The Ministry which has several departments focusing on different aspects of health care should also borrow a leaf from other countries that have over the years managed a downward trend of fresh infections.
For instance if there is a sustained policy of regular test and counseling at various gatherings, there may be a consistent downward trend of fresh infection and prevalence in the country.
The Nigerian government at all levels must as a matter of urgency toe the line of Access Bank and its allies to ensure regular tests and counseling in order to see the end of HIV prevalence in the country.
