The Director General of National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Professor John Idoko has identified four factors hampering effective fight against HIV in the country.
? Idoko who made the clarification at the opening of a 5-Day Workshop on Resource Mobilisation for NACA, SACA, Civil Society Organisations and Enhancing Nigeria Response on HIV/AIDS ?organised by the Department for International Development (DFID).
? He said that the continued Mother to Child Transmission of HIV in the country was very alarming and needed to be interrupted, adding that “Currently Nigeria is having about 30 per cent of the burden, the highest in the World.”
He also said that treatment of HIV infected persons was another challenge, adding that treatment was another source of preventing transmission.
? “When you treat someone who is positive, the viral load goes down then he cannot transmit the virus to his partner. ? “Currently we have three million people who are HIV positive in Nigeria and half of this number lack treatment. Treatment is capital intensive, he said.
? According to him, testing was another big challenge, adding that more than 20 million Nigerians needed to be tested every year.
? “We are only working below 200-300,000. Many people in Nigeria are working the street with HIV virus but they do not even want to know,” he said.
? Idoko further described lack of proper funding as the biggest of the challenges.
?Speaking, the Programme Officer of the Enhancing Nigeria’s Response on HIV/AIDS, Mrs. Mary Mbukpa, said that the workshop had become necessary because of the dwindling grants from donour partners.
? “We want to ensure that the country was not caught napping when the donor partners withdraw. So we are getting prepared for the future,” she said.
? Mbukpa said that there was the need to mobilise resources from local stakeholders in order to continue the fight against HIV.
? The Lead Resource person, Dr Jonathan Ford said that the participants were expected to be taught on development of national action among others.
