The plan of the international community including Nigeria to reduce the prevalence of HIV infection to zero by 2020, may not be workable. This the view of some people Living with HIV (PLWH), that are now required to pay between N9,000 and N7500 before accessing their medications, going by new developments that has been introduced over one year ago.
This came to light at a forum jointly organised by some networks focusing on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, to mark the 2015 World AIDS Day in Lagos State last Thursday. The associations which made the call are working together for possible eradication of HIV/ AIDS in Lagos State.
They include: the Association of Women Living with HIV/ AIDS in Nigeria (ASWHAN), Association of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (AONN), Civil Society Organisations on HIV/ AIDS, Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), National Youth Network on HIV/AIDS, Population and Development (NYNETHA) and TB Network.
The theme of the 2015 World AIDS Day is: Getting to Zero; Zero New HIV Infection; Zero HIV/AIDS Discrimination; Zero HIV/AIDS Related Deaths. An estimated 3.4million Nigerians are living with HIV/AIDS virus in Nigeria and in 2014 alone 60,000 children were infected.
To help reduce infection, the World Health Organisation (WHO) this year issued a new guideline directing that all PLWH must be placed on treatment. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is recommended for all HIV-infected individuals to reduce the risk of disease progression, leading to AIDS-defining illnesses and premature death.
Going by the guideline, infected persons are expected to be placed on drugs, but the development in the country whereby many persons needing drugs are no longer able to access it is a dangerous trend. Babamole Rahman Olanrewaju, coordinator of National Youth Network on HIV/AIDS, Population and Development (NYNETHA) and TB Network, said many poor HIV infected persons have already dropped out from accessing HIV treatment because they cannot afford to pay this money which faculties are demanding.
Although, HIV treatment centres provide free HIV drugs to infected persons, the N7,500 or N9,000 cover cost of consultancy or registration, the cost of conducting tests to check the viral loads of infected persons, service provisions, etc. While the Lagos State Government-funded HIV treatment sites does not demand such fees from HIV infected persons, patients pay the fees at Federal Government facilities.
Adeyemi Azeez Adebayo, coordinatior of Civil Society Organisations on HIV/AIDS, said funding for HIV/AIDS is no longer as adequate as it used to be. “We are not getting enough funding and people that are suffering are being asked to pay even before they can access treatment. It is a great hindrance.”
He noted that money used to fund treatment of HIV is coming from the American Government, the United Kingdom, Global Fund and other foreign donor agencies. “What role does our own government play?” he asked. According to him, the lack of positive response from the Federal Government to step in and provide more funding to address the problems reflects the lack of government’s readiness to tackle the problem.
While urging the Federal Government to take ownership of the HIV treatment programme through appropriate funding of the prevention and treatment, the Coordinator of NEPWHAN in Lagos State, Mrs Amina Alli- Agboola said the people that are infected with HIV need to continue with free comprehensive treatment in order to achieve 90-90-90.
What this translates to, according to her is that “by 2020, 90 per cent of all people living with HIV will know their status. “By 2020, 90 per cent of all people diagnosed with HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy; and by 2020, 90 per cent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.” While calling for the implementation of the Anti-Stima Law in all areas of life, she said, “we need private organisations to include people living HIV as brand ambassadors.
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