Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS prevalence rate drops to 4.1%
Nigeria is said to be experiencing a decline in the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, perhaps because more people living with AIDS globally now have access to antiretroviral treatment.
According to a UNAIDS, “50% of people who are eligible for antiretroviral therapy now have access to life saving treatment.”
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation, with a population of 150 million.
The Country Director of the Center for Global Health (CDC Nigeria), Dr Okey Nwanyawu said the HIV/AIDS Prevalence rate in the country dropped from 5.3% a few years ago to 4.1% in 2010.
A joint report on HIV/AIDS issued by the United Nations Programme (UNDP) and UNAIDS in November “shows that 2011 was a game changing year for the AIDS response with unprecedented progress in science, political leadership and results.”
The report further said “new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have fallen to the lowest levels since the peak of the epidemic. New HIV infections were reduced by 21% since 1997, and deaths from AIDS-related illnesses decreased by 21% since 2005.” By the end of 2010, UNAIDS says some 34million people around the world were living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The CDC Director in Nigeria, Dr, Nwanyawu gave Journalists specific details of the downward trend in HIV/AIDS cases at a news conference in Abuja, ahead of World AIDS day on December 1.
WADR’s Correspondent Martin Martins reports.
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