EFFORTS TO TREAT PERSONS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS VIRUS IN NIGERIA

Now to help matters, stakeholders in the health sector of Nigerian Economy had converged in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, for the dissemination of the national guidelines for HIV prevention treatment and care. The guidelines focus on persons living with HIV on treatment.

According to the correspondent reporter of the Program who said that the federal government on the December 2016 launched National Guidelines for HIV Prevention Treatment and care to fast track plan of action towards achieving 1990 target as well as curb the spread of the deadly AIDS Virus in the country. At the event, the Chief Executive officer Institute of Human Geology in Nigeria DR. PATRICK DAKU said the dissemination was to ensure availability of the New treatment at all levels. According to DR. PATRICK who specified that in the past once one is to test for HIV, there is need to take your blood for test and once you are positive, there is need to commence treatment immediately. But the science community led by the World Health Organization (WHO), had already discovered over two years ago that we should cast one and find one positive, that there should be commencement of treatment immediately. And he said that this practice reduces the risk of complications as one moves on with the therapy.

Also the national Coordinator, National AIDS and Standard Transmitted Fight control program ministry of health DR. SUNDAY ABODE observed that new guideline will address the issue of the treatment failure. According to DR. SUNDAY ABODE who also said that the HIV Virus is such that mutates often and as it changes, it is developing resistance to the drugs; so in the best of the practice we still have very few percentage of population that would fail therapy and those that will fail therapy second line therapy had not been taken care off in any of their guideline, but in the new guideline, they are being taken care off.

A member Network of persons living with HIV /AIDS in Nigeria MR. TUNDE OBADAKPO expressed concern over the implementation of the guidelines. According to the MR. TUNDE OBADAKPO who said that they cannot handle the logistics, and according to him that means that they cannot do cost and treat at the same time. And that is a big challenge for them in the country. And he said that some thought that  even in small organization like his own he will think for his staff, this is where you see people giving excuses that are not acceptable, why the excuses? Because of the burden of HIV,  MR. TUNDE OBADAKPO also advocated for treatment of persons living with HIV Virus, addressing the issues of the organization and commencing the engagement of the guidelines.

NEWS REPORTER: ONYIA EMEKA HARFORD

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