Nigeria: HIV/Aids- Treatment Now the Issue
By Agha Ibiam,, This Day, August 4, 2005
LAGOS-- Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency, Dr. Aderemi Desalu has the challenges they now face are that of providing proper treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
Desalu disclosed this at the HIV/AIDS Development Programme Project, on Expanding Public Sector Response, organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Bank. He stated that the State has gone through the stages of informing the people about HIV/AIDS, adding that about 90 per cent of people living in Lagos are aware of the disease.
He said one of the greatest challenges they met on ground was the issue of voluntary counselling treatment centre (VCTs), where people affected with HIV/AIDS could get tested and at the same time receive drugs if satified positive.
"The last thing the State is trying to get hold of is the treatment aspect. It is not everybody who is positive needs anti-retroviral treatment. So what we have in Lagos State is both Federal and State Government VCTs. We urge people that they should not allow HIV scare them into submission. They should come out, get tested because if they tested and a later need medication, it would be available to them", he said.
Desalu said current estimate revealed that out of the 15 million people living in Lagos, about one million of the population are HIV positive. That again presupposes that 10-15 per cent of them, that is 100,000 or more may need ARVs.
He said the need to scale up the provision of ARVs for those that need it is necessary, which he said cannot be done in isolation. He said about 15,000 are on treatment under Federal Government initiative, while another 15,000 are on ARV under aegis of PEPFAR, while another 20,000 is under Lagos State treatment record.
"The challenge that has been thrown to everybody is re-echoed by President Olusegun Obasanjo recently. And this is an international challenge that we need to put at least 250,000 people by June next year", Desalu said.
He reiterated that the idea of treating 3 million people by 2005, as postulated by the World
Health Organisation (WHO) is unrealistic. He said for Lagos State to meet the new challenge, it is just a matter of expanding VCTs centres and training of more personnels.
Source: AllAfrica.com
LAGOS-- Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency, Dr. Aderemi Desalu has the challenges they now face are that of providing proper treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
Desalu disclosed this at the HIV/AIDS Development Programme Project, on Expanding Public Sector Response, organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Bank. He stated that the State has gone through the stages of informing the people about HIV/AIDS, adding that about 90 per cent of people living in Lagos are aware of the disease.
He said one of the greatest challenges they met on ground was the issue of voluntary counselling treatment centre (VCTs), where people affected with HIV/AIDS could get tested and at the same time receive drugs if satified positive.
"The last thing the State is trying to get hold of is the treatment aspect. It is not everybody who is positive needs anti-retroviral treatment. So what we have in Lagos State is both Federal and State Government VCTs. We urge people that they should not allow HIV scare them into submission. They should come out, get tested because if they tested and a later need medication, it would be available to them", he said.
Desalu said current estimate revealed that out of the 15 million people living in Lagos, about one million of the population are HIV positive. That again presupposes that 10-15 per cent of them, that is 100,000 or more may need ARVs.
He said the need to scale up the provision of ARVs for those that need it is necessary, which he said cannot be done in isolation. He said about 15,000 are on treatment under Federal Government initiative, while another 15,000 are on ARV under aegis of PEPFAR, while another 20,000 is under Lagos State treatment record.
"The challenge that has been thrown to everybody is re-echoed by President Olusegun Obasanjo recently. And this is an international challenge that we need to put at least 250,000 people by June next year", Desalu said.
He reiterated that the idea of treating 3 million people by 2005, as postulated by the World
Health Organisation (WHO) is unrealistic. He said for Lagos State to meet the new challenge, it is just a matter of expanding VCTs centres and training of more personnels.
Source: AllAfrica.com
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 3:54 pm
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