Taraba State Agency for the Control of Aids, TACA, says the state has a current figure of forty-two thousand, three hundred and eighty-one (42,381) persons on treatment for HIV/AIDS, as it takes on targeted testing across the state.
The Director General of the Agency, Dr Garba Danjuma, says the domestication of the HIV/AIDS Anti-discrimination Law, will play a key role in curbing stigmatization.
Between 2012 and 2018, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Taraba State dropped from 10.5 to 2.9, and access to community-based testing has increased its early detection.
The new prevalence rate indicates that at least 80 thousand persons are living with the disease, but the number of infected persons on treatment in the state at present is 42,381.
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The Director General of the Taraba State Agency for the Control of AIDS, Doctor Garba Danjuma, says the domestication of the anti-discrimination law in the state will go a long way in motivating HIV-infected persons to test and access treatment, as their rights will be protected.
Stigmatization against HIV-positive persons, insecurity, and difficult terrain are some of the challenges faced in the campaign to stop the spread of the virus by the year 2030.
The fight against HIV/AIDS has suffered donor fatigue in the past few years, but the spread of the virus is very much a reality in society, even though, headway has been made in accessing treatment and suppressing its viral load in positive persons.