South West’s Osun State Government has recorded a reduction in new HIV infections in the state. The governor of the state, Senator Ademola Adeleke, revealed this on March 28, 2023, at the launch of the SURGE Project, which was organized by Excellence Community Education Welfare Scheme (ECEWS) in the state capital, Osogbo. Senator Adeleke , who was represented at the event by his deputy, expressed his satisfaction with the steps that have been taken towards improving access to HIV testing and treatment services.
He said that the project has made progress in reducing new HIV infections, especially among adolescent girls and young women, who are three times more likely to be infected with HIV than their male counterparts. He also said that efforts have been made to strengthen existing systems and promote stakeholder involvement. He attributed the success to the collective efforts of the government, ECEWS, the dedicated health workers who are on the frontlines of the fund as well as the Center for Disease Control.
More HIV patients can now access anti-retroviral drugs.
Governor Adeleke said that the main thrust of the project was to provide free HIV preventive and treatment services to thousands of people. This includes children, pregnant women, and key populations. He noted that thousands of residents of the state had benefited from free testing and treatment services, which accounted for a leap in treatment coverage by 12 percent in the first five months of active surge implementation. More so, the governor said that more people living with HIV could access the lifesaving anti-retroviral drugs, prophylaxis, and other essential services to stay healthy and thrive.
In terms of reducing and preventing new infections, he said that emphasis was placed on adolescent girls and young women because of their susceptibility. The driving factor was identified as inequality. Thus, all stakeholders are working to combine services for sexual and reproductive health with services for preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence and HIV, to design interventions that work for all women and girls in all their diversity. The governor said that ensuring all pregnant women have access to HIV testing services and treatment as needed will keep us in focus for an HIV-free generation.
HIV statistics in Nigeria calls for more efforts to combat the virus.
According to Be in the KNOW, a new digital brand by (an NGO) offering trusted, evidence-based content on sex and sexual health, about 1.9 million people are living with HIV in Nigeria; there is HIV prevalence 1.3 percent of adults; there are about 74,000 new HIV infections and 51,000 AIDS-related deaths; and 1.7 million people are on anti-retroviral treatment. Governor Adeleke implores all indigenes and dwellers to ensure that they know their status and adopt healthy lifestyles.
The US Consul-General, Will Stevens, harped on the need to conduct more HIV tests in the state to reach out to those who do not know their status yet. He also added that the purpose of the SURGE Project was to reach out to more people and ensure that carriers of the virus commence treatment immediately. Stevens noted that over 13,000 persons living with HIV/AIDS in the state were yet to commence treatment and called for a massive outreach to get to them.
There is a need to reach all 29,000 people living with HIV.
Mr. Stevens said more hands are needed on deck to reach the most vulnerable citizens. Those who have been cast aside, ignored, and downtrodden should be found through the collective efforts of the government, the police, civil societies and implementing partners. Head of Legal Service, ECEWS Project Director of HIV treatment for Osun, Ekiti and Delta States, Dr. Okezie Onyediachi, also stressed the need to reach all the over 29,000 persons living with HIV/AIDS before 2025.
Related Link
Wikipedia: Website
Osun State records less cases of HIV – Success achieved among adolescent girls and young women prone to the infection. – Express your point of view.
HIV can be gotten through different means of transmission. That of sexual intercourse is the most popular means. We should try everything as possible to ensure we don’t engage in practices that can expose us to this disease.
Osun State’s low incidence of HIV may be the result of a combination of factors such as effective awareness campaigns, strong healthcare systems, access to healthcare services, cultural practices, strong community engagement, and partnerships with NGOs and international organizations.
Osun state really tried by making their number of HIV patients to reduce and that is what every other states in the country should try and recreate this because it’s something that is nice.
It is great that Osun state is providing free screening services for people or pregnant women and other citizens of the state, that would have really helped with the low number of cases they got.
This achievement on the reduced cases of HIV/AIDS is a prove of the performance of the Osun government in ensuring the reduction of such cases. They have done well.
It is imperative that we make every effort to avoid engaging in behaviours that could put us at risk for contracting this illness, and that we look to Osun state for guidance and inspiration while we do so.
Kudos to Osun state government for recording less case of HIV/AIDS. It shows that the state have done a very good job through funding project to create awareness, making the drugs available etc. I hope state will do same.
The surge will continue to reduce due to the awareness, campaign and enlightenment of the citizens because by now, average people has know the importance of coming out early and treatment
Success achieved among adolescent girls and young women prone to the infection. Very nice, more awareness should be created to public on how to prevent and protect them again HIV and also make them to understand that regular check up is very important.
Enlightenment and frequent education on how to protect your self from HIV should be a regular activity available to people, this will definitely help reduce cases of HIV