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HIV/AIDS not a death sentence – Dr. Ruth, Executive Director, NASACA

The Executive Director of the Nasarawa State AIDS Control Agency (NASACA), Dr Ruth Bello, in this interview disclosed that in 2024, 2,934 people were newly infected with HIV/AIDS, reflecting a decrease from 4,222 cases in 2023 and 6,614 in 2022 in the state, excerpts:

By Muhammed Danjuma Ogwu

What is the burden of people living with HIV/ AIDS in Nasarawa State?

Presently, the prevalence of HIV/ AIDS in Nasarawa State following the NAIIS studies in 2018 is 2%, which is a reduction because over the years we moved from 8.6% to 6.3% to 4.3% and now we are at 2%. Before, we had a few facilities that offered HIV services, but now, almost every facility in the state offers HIV services.

How many people are living with HIV/AIDS in Nasarawa State?

Currently, we have over 65,000 people living with HID/AIDS and on medication antiretroviral therapy for HIV. 

Briefly, what is the state government doing to ensure optimal prevention and treatment services?

In Nasarawa State we have the anti-stigma law which has been signed into law since 2012. It’s been in the state with us and we have sensitized people living with HIV to know that this law is there and anybody that is being stigmatized or his right has been violated, he can always seek redress.

And in the state, we have over 1,000 health facilities, both government and private offering HIV services, because there are some that don’t want to go to public facilities, so they prefer to receive medication in private hospital.

We made it like that so that it will not be far from where you are because before now, people in Nasarawa State can travel all the way to Plateau State because they want to access HIV services, but now it’s not so it is just within your community, where you don’t even need to take a bike. You can walk to any facility, you’ll be screened and If you are positive, you’ll be counsel and also be linked to the nearest facility that will give you treatment. 

Since the creation of this law, has anybody been arrested in the state?

Well, we have had so many cases of people reporting where their right has been violated because of one thing or the other. But the only problem I would say is that it’s not being enforced. Going with our country or our state, if your right has been violated, if they want to take it to a logical conclusion, because we work in collaboration with the Human Rights Commission, Ministry of Justice, traditional rulers, religious leaders, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corpse (NSCDC), we have Police Action Committee on AIDS , CSO and many more.

We also work with the Network of People Living with HIV AIDS. In fact, we have a technical working group for Gender and Human Rights. We also work in collaboration with line ministries like Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Youths and Sports and Ministry of Education to ensure that the burden of HIV/AIDS is reduced to a barest minimum. 

So, usually when they report these cases, if you want to follow it up, they may come back again and they want to settle it locally. So, those are the challenges that we have.

What are the common myths about HIV/AIDS to date and what is the agency doing to debunk them and create awareness about the disease? 

Well, the agency has done a lot in terms of creating awareness on HIV/AIDS, because a lot of people look at HIV/AIDS as a death sentence, stigma and discrimination, and so on. However, if people are HIV positive, they may be separated from other people in their household so that they cannot be infected, but by the time people begin to know that HIV is not by close contact there are different ways we try to educate the public how HIV is transmitted and how it can be prevented and we have been doing that through our community leaders, our traditional rulers, our religious leaders in the Church and Mosque because they have their congregation and they listened to them.

So, usually before prayer, they do some preaching in the Mosque and we try from time to time to educate people about the danger of HIV diseased. So, they try to give some messages about how HIV is transmitted, how it is prevented among two couples who are married even because a lot of work has been done on HIV/AIDS.

However, a lot of progress has been made, but before, if somebody is HIV positive, you would not be allowed to marry somebody who is HIV negative that would be a discordant couple, but with the creation of awareness and sensitization, also telling people that a lot of progress has been made, that even if somebody is positive, you can marry someone that is negative with the pre-exposure prophylaxis that we have now in the country so the person that is positive will be taking his own drugs and he will be allowed to marry somebody that is negative, that will also have drugs to give the person that is negative, so that she will not be, or he will not be infected. When the other person that is positive, his viral load is suppressed as it’s undetectable, it means that he cannot transmit the disease to the other person. So, at that point, the other person can stop the drug. So we have this U equal. U means Undetectable viral load means Untransmittable . You cannot  transmit it to another person. So with that, our religious leaders know that you can actually marry discordant couples, as far as they have consented, If they agree to marry, they should be allowed to marry, but if the other person says, ‘no, you are HIV positive, I don’t want to marry you’, fine, but if they are aware, they have made informed decisions, they want to marry, all that you need to do is to encourage the person that is positive to take his drugs so that his viral load will be suppressed while the person that is negative can start taking pre-exposure prophylaxis, and when his partner is well suppressed, then he can stop the pre-exposure prophylaxis. 

What are the challenges the agency has been facing in the past and now?

The challenges before is that people look at HIV as if it’s a death sentence. They don’t want to come out because either they are afraid or they are ashamed or they will be stigmatized.

What is your advice to pregnant women on preventing mother to child transmission of the disease? 

Well, my advice to pregnant women is that all pregnant women should be screened for HIV. Once you are pregnant, go for antenatal, because, you know, we are working towards achieving epidemic control by 2030. It means that by 2030, we don’t want to have a new infection of HIV. While those that are positive, they remain positive, they are on drugs, their viral load is suppressed while those that are negative, they should remain negative.

That’s where we are going to. So we encourage pregnant women, we don’t want to have a child, a newborn child that will be HIV positive. So we want our next generation to be free of HIV. 

So, if you are pregnant, go for antenatal and you will be screened for HIV, hepatitis, and syphilis. If you are positive, they will commence you on drugs immediately and also when you deliver, your baby will be given post-exposure prophylaxis so that the baby will not be infected so that we can have a free HIV generation.

Is there any other thing you may wish to say regarding the menace of HIV/AIDS?

Well, generally, what I want to say is that please, people should check their status. at every given opportunity, screen yourself. If you are positive, HIV is not a death sentence. It is a treatable disease. You take your drugs, and once you take your drugs, within a few months, your viral load is suppressed.

Once your viral load is suppressed, you cannot transmit the disease to another person and avoid risky behavior if you are negative. That will predispose you to HIV positive and also, let’s continue to create awareness about this disease and let people know, especially our young children in schools, whether secondary schools, tertiary institutions, they should know how HIV is being transmitted and they should know what they can do to prevent themselves from being infected.

With that, I think by 2030, we will be able to achieve epidemic control as long as we have people that are HIV positive, their viral load is suppressed, and they should are take their medication seriously and for those that are negative, they should take precautionary measures so that they cannot be infected with the diseased.

May we know the numbers of deaths that have been recorded in the state from 2013 to date? 

It’s going to be difficult for me to know because it’s going to be across the state so, I don’t have that data.

What is the state government doing to woo others NGOs to partner with the state to ensure that the disease is being reduced to its barest minimum? 

Actually, the agency, you know, before it was funded by World Bank, that is HIV activity generally in the country, but since 2017, when the World Bank project ended, Nasarawa State Government has been funding HIV activities in the state. The agency works in collaboration with other partners in the state. We have the implementing partners, the Civil Society Organization on HIV. So, it’s not just the government agency, even different communities, the Network of People Living With with HIV, line ministries.

How much has been spent so far on the fight against HIV/AIDS in the state? 

I wouldn’t know, because I was not the first Executive Director of the Nasarawa State AIDS Control Agency, but for this year 2024 alone, we have over N200 million for HIV in Nasarawa State being approved by the state government to fight the menace of HIV.

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