Over 44,000 persons are said to be living with HIV, while 22,000 who have tested positive, are yet to be identified to start receiving treatment in Nassarawa State.
The Director General, National Agency for the Control of Aids, NACA, Dr Gambo Aliyu, said this on Monday during the commissioning of the organization’s North Central Zonal office in Lafia, the state’s capital.
“These 22,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the state, who are at large, are the ones that we are looking for.”
He, however, stated that NACA has done very well in the last 15 years by reducing the burden of HIV/AIDS prevalence to 1.4 per cent from 4.4 per cent in the country.
Aliyu continued: “In the last 15 years, we were talking of 3.5 million people living with the epidemic in Nigeria. But today, we are talking of about 1.9m people with the disease, or less, across the country.”
“NACA is in Nasarawa State to push the fight against HIV/AIDS to the last mile.
“That is to say, everyone is being tested to know their status so that those that are HIV/AIDS positive are treated, while those who test negative remain negative for the rest of their lives.”
Aliyu added that there was no way to end HIV/AIDS if people living with the virus don’t know their status, warning, “knowing your status is the beginning of controlling HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.”
The Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Emmanuel Akabe, assured the agency that the government would work tirelessly to ensure that it fights against HIV in the state.
In other to help the agency fight HIV and AIDS, Akabe called on every individual to go for the HIV test, to enable them know their status.
Participants at the event expressed gratitude to the agency for providing a zonal office in the state.
