Nigeria’s target of zero #HIV/AIDS, Zero discrimination by 2015 is still way off the mark considering the 
hitches in its national response, which is mainly fund.
hitches in its national response, which is mainly fund.Less than two months to the celebration of World AIDS Day, marked globally every December 1st, Nigeria may not have a positive score card to show.
The reason being the miserable conditions of people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as the high number of people dying daily from AIDS-related complications due to lack of access to anti-retroviral drugs.
It is no longer news that Nigeria has the second highest HIV burden in the world with 3.4 million Nigerians living with HIV.
The Director General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS(NACA), Prof John Idoko, said that only 642,000 HIV positive persons out of the 1.6 million people requiring treatment, are currently accessing anti retroviral drugs, which represents only 30 per cent of the national need.
The Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWAN) has raised the alarm over their plight.
The national coordinator of the association, Mr Edward Ogenyi, said the death rate of people living with HIV/AIDS is on the increase because government has not owned the process.
The assistant national secretary, Kano State chapter of the association, Hadiza Jibrin added that some of the members are complaining that they are asked to pay N1500 to get tested for HIV at private clinics.
She said, “The reason is because those test kits are been supplied through donors. Now that the donors are withdrawing and pulling their funds out of the country, it means that private hospitals will have to source for funds and buy these test kits by themselves. Because they are profit making organisations, they are charging people to pay for HIV tests.”
According to her, “ If test for HIV continues at N1000 and N1500, then we are far from ending the HIV epidemic in this country. It is major barrier that will not allow people to have access to treatment.”
She added that that no state is exempted from this problem as all the 36 states, including the FCT, are having one problem or the other.
“Remember we are talking about sustainability; the international partners have come with their open mind to help us. From the point of enrolment, they will tell you that the treatment is for life. We are taking it on a daily basis. So it would be out of place to wake up one day and see that these donors are nowhere to be found again. From the various states we all represent here, the donors are telling us that they are leaving; and by the time they leave us, what will our government do?”
danglingReport, however, noted that they shouldn’t be blamed for having the HIV virus.
President Goodluck Jonathan had launched with fanfare last year, July 2013, the President’s Comprehensive Response Plan(PCRP) for HIV/AIDS, which was to be implemented with N140 billion.
The PCRP aims to avail 80 million Nigerians the knowledge of their HIV status; enrol an additional 600,000 eligible adults and children on ART; provide ART for 244,000 HIV pregnant for prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), provide access to combination prevention services for 500,000 most at risk populations (MARPs).
Speaking to journalists recently in Abuja, the national coordinator of the association, Mr Edward Ogenyi, wondered how many people will die of HIV/AIDS before the Finance ministry released fund for the implementation of the PCRP for HIV/AIDS which was designed to urgently bridge the existing service access gaps for HIV/AIDS.
“Madam Minister, this is an SOS. Save our women, our new born babies and our generation from HIV/AIDS. We are tired of mourning and burying our members. Development starts with human beings,” he said
.
Also, the national public relations officer of the association, Samaila Garba, urged the federal government to stand up to its responsibility.
He said from 2004 up till date, HIV programme in the country has been donor driven which had contributed to a lot of success, but now that the finances have dwindled, they can no longer access HIV services”
“The question is, who are the people that will do these services? Are they saying people living with HIV/AIDS should come and pay when 80 per cent of our members cannot afford these investigations because of the cost?. Mind you, the drugs we are given are very toxic.”
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