Enugu records steady decline in HIV prevalence

Enugu records steady decline in HIV prevalence
Cyril Okonkwo, Enugu

The HIV prevalence rate in Enugu State, South East Nigeria, has been on a steady decline in the past five years.

The Executive Secretary of the Enugu State Action Committee on AIDS (ENSACA), Dr. Christian Ani, told Voice of Nigeria in Enugu that the prevalence rate has decreased from 6.5 percent in 2006 to 5.8 percent in 2008 and 5.1 percent in 2010.

He said that out of the state’s 3.2 million people, the estimated number of those living with the virus in the state is between 94, 000 to 96, 000, leaving the number of HIV negative people to 3.1 million.

Ani said out of this number, about 19, 000 to 20, 000 people would require anti-retroviral therapy.

In his words, “If you look at the mother-to-child burden that we have, it is roughly about 150, 000 to 160, 000 women that would require prevention of mother-to-child , services.  Out of this number, about 9,000 will actually be found to be HIV positive.  About 100, 000 women have been accessed in that aspect of the response in Enugu State.”

Ani said the paediatric AIDS burden in the state indicates that about 8,000 children are at the risk of being HIV positive, pointing out that 4,000 out of this number would be found to be positive in the state.

“Currently there are remedial strategies developed by government and it is being implemented to see that we look at all this burden and take control.  What it means is that about 3.1 people in  Enugu state are assumed to be HIV negative,” he said.
Giving a historical background to government’s response to HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, Ani said it began in the 1980s with the health sector, when it was thought that the major problem was treatment.

Accessible anti-retroviral therapy

He said the major focus now was on prevention using the three basic strategies of abstinence, being faithful and the use of condoms.

Ani said that anti-retroviral therapy drugs were available free in the state.

He stressed: “In fact we have 16 treatment centres in Enugu State that are providing the drugs free of charge.”

He noted that a report by one of our partners, Universal Research Corporation, that is providing such service in five centres in Enugu showed that some drugs were expired and would be returned to Abuja.

According to him, this was one of the major problems facing the agency, resulting from the inability of people infected with HIV to access the drugs due to denials and failure to disclose their status and get care and support.

Williams