Our efforts, challenges to combat HIV/AIDS – APIN

But it secured another five-year grant from the Centre for Disease Control to continue the  services for another five years.At a meeting marking the end of five years of APIN’s work in Nigeria, the CDC said it was proud of what the organisation has done, according to Dr Jerry Gwamna, a representative of the centre’s […]

But it secured another five-year grant from the Centre for Disease Control to continue the  services for another five years.
At a meeting marking the end of five years of APIN’s work in Nigeria, the CDC said it was proud of what the organisation has done, according to Dr Jerry Gwamna, a representative of the centre’s country director.
APIN supported provision of HIV services at some 55 sites for antiretrovirals in efforts to meet targets set by a second round of funding from the US President’s Emergency Funds for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR II).
PEPFAR has supported HIV prevention, care and treatment services in Nigeria since 2004. It funds the programme through nongovernmental organisations involved in HIV services. Its first-ever funding for APIN came in 2008.
Since then sites for services to prevent transmission of HIV from mothers to unborn babies have increased to 76, and centres for managing tuberculosis using steps recommended by the World Health Organisation have increased to 43.
Much of the work was done through some 28 community-based organisations to provided care and treatment for people living with HIV and their families, according to documents released at APIN’s close-out meeting before federal health officials, CDC representatives and health commissioners from 10 states where APIN works.
According to the documents, over 800,000 people went through HIV counselling and testing for their status.
Dr Jay Osi- Samuels,  APIN’s associate director for laboratory services, said the scale up of ART services has reduced the financial and logistics burden of accessing drugs on patients who live in these areas, some of which are only accessible by ferries or have un-motorable roads during the rainy season.
But antiretroviral drugs provided covered only 75,000, around one-tenth the number of people who went through testing and counselling.
The funding through CDC also paid for laboratory equipment in some 50 hospitals in efforts to increase APIN role in HIV laboratory support in the country, the document said.
The laboratories are estimated to support 82% of facilities for viral load checks.
At least three quarters of the labs have capacity for use in monitoring drug resistance.
The project trained 3,247 health care workers to provide high quality HIV services in the country, including use of electronic patient record management system to access client care history.
Even when patients transfer between hospitals, health care workers and community-based organisations working together on patient history can continue to create awareness and demand for HIV services, including reaching orphans and vulnerable children in communities.
Dr Osi- Samuels  said that the project model of training hospital staff rather than posting APIN staff to work on site has increased the pool of qualified health care workers across all supported facilities and states and is a strategy for sustainability of HIV services in the country.
He also described infrastructure development at supported facilities as one of the critical factors for successful project implementation as most health facilities suffered from chronic under investment at the beginning of the project.
Dr Yewande Adeshina, special adviser on public health to Lagos state government, said collaboration with state governments was crucial to success of HIV programmes
He spoke alongside Dr Ibrahim Kida, representative of Borno state health commissioner.
APIN chief executive officer of the organization, Dr Prosper Okonkwo thanked stakeholders for their support and especially CDC for the confidence reposed in the organization as the first Nigerian organization to be given a five-year award by CDC in Nigeria.
Prof Ibironke Akinsete, a member of APIN board of trustees and pioneer director-general of the National Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS who chaired the dissemination meeting, commended the organization’s management for its stewardship of project funds and charged all stakeholders to continue to support the organization not just on its CDC funded grants but also on its other projects including the Global Fund HIV care and treatment project.