Nigeria tops world list of HIV infected children: UN report
The report titled: “2013 Progress report on the global plan: Towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive”, disclosed however that not much has been done since 2009 to improve prevention of mother to child transmission which is responsible for the alarming infections. The UN said it […]
The report titled: “2013 Progress report on the global plan: Towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive”, disclosed however that not much has been done since 2009 to improve prevention of mother to child transmission which is responsible for the alarming infections.
The UN said it is worried about the prevalence rate of HIV among Nigerian children.
It warned that if Nigeria doesn’t sit up in curbing HIV in children, the global target, part of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, will not be realised by 2015.
“Without urgent action in Nigeria, the global target for 2015 is unlikely to be reached,” the report stated.
It also said while Nigeria witnessed stagnation, since 2009, in the prevalence of HIV among children, several other Sub Saharan African countries, witnessed a massive reduction in the prevalence rate of the condition.
Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia all witnessed a 50 per cent decline in new HIV infections in children, while two more countries- the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe- are very close to achieving this target; prompting the UN to warn Nigeria to sit up in the fight against HIV in children.
Nigeria’s comparatively poor performance in combating HIV transmission to children also reflected among the 21 countries under the Global Plan watch of the UN.
“Nigeria accounts for one third of all new HIV infections among children in the 21 priority countries in sub-Saharan Africa: the largest number of any country. Progress here is therefore critical to eliminating new HIV infections among children globally.
“Nearly all indicators assessed show stagnation and suggest that Nigeria is facing significant hurdles,” the report stated.
Reacting to the report, the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Professor John Idoko, noted that PMTCT in Nigeria is one of the greatest challenges of the HIV national response.
According to him one of the sour points militating against Nigeria was its in-ability to collect data which would have shown some of the progresses made due to some of the interventions put in place since 2009.
“I am happy to note that the report also notes “Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have doubled the numbers of children accessing treatment from 2009 to 2012”.
But the report has fears that Nigeria is not making enough efforts to combat this menace. It reads in part: “New infections among children in Nigeria––which has the largest number of children acquiring HIV (nearly 60 000 new HIV infections among children in 2012)––remained largely unchanged since 2009. Without urgent action in Nigeria the global target for 2015 may not be reached”.
Idoko, however, says that with the present interventions in place, reduction in HIV cases among children has been recorded saying, “currently, Nigeria has 1,410 PMTCT sites, still well below the number of sites required for adequate coverage but a significant progress from 650 sites in 2009.”
Jonathan: We’ll lose fight against HIV/AIDS unless…
President Goodluck Jonathan says the fight against HIV/AIDS will be an exercise in futility if African leaders fail to eradicate poverty.
Speaking in Abuja yesterday at the commencement of a second high level meeting of the Global Power Women Network Africa (GPWNA), Jonathan said African leaders must go beyond the provision of free test kits and anti-retroviral drugs to effectively fight the scourge.
“For us in Africa, to fight AIDS, we must also fight poverty; African leaders must ensure that we create wealth for the citizens”.
The President, who said his administration would soon launch a national road map on HIV/AIDS, charged other African leaders to be committed to addressing gender equality in order to attain sustainable development.
Also speaking, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said 69 percent of the 34 million people living with HIV/AIDS across the world by 2011 were from Africa.
She recommended that cultural and structural inequalities be addressed to fight the scourge.
The Executive Director of the UNAIDS, Michel Sidibe, disclosed that eight million people were currently being treated for HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Dignitaries at the summit include Liberian and Malawian Presidents Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Joyce Banda of Malawi respectively; Nigerian First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan, represented by the wife of the Vice President, Amina Sambo; and Chadian First Lady Hinda Derby.
Reps deny witch-hunt as they begin probe of HIV/AIDS funds
Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has said the investigation into how funds meant to tackle HIV/AIDS are managed, is not meant to witch-hunt but enhance transparency and access to medical facilities for people living with the disease.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the opening of the investigative hearing on checking the activities of NGOs and government organisations working in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Nigeria, Tambuwal said the investigation should not be seen as an attempt to restrict anyone but an effort to infuse transparency and accountability retain the confidence of donors.
He said: “This investigative hearing is a first step toward making our people more informed on how resources are applied to care for those infected or affected by the disease, and how to also make things better so that everyone can have access to quality HIV care and treatment.”
Chairman of the House committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Leprosy Control, Rep Joseph Kigbu, said the investigation becomes necessary because many private agencies working in the sector have remained faceless, while application of funds in the sector have become questionable.
He said the outcome of the investigation will encourage donor partners to improve on their efforts and funding for the fight against the disease.
He said, “This hearing is not a witch-hunt, but a veritable duty of the parliament in her oversight functions as stipulated in our standing rules and indeed the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”