The National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, has said about 215,000 persons die from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS, annually.
The agency also identified stigmatisation and discrimination as factors discouraging access to drugs by carriers of Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
The Director-General, NACA, Prof. John Idoko, said in Abuja on Tuesday that the last survey for HIV was done in 2010 among pregnant women across the country, as recommended by the World Health Organisation to establish the HIV prevalence in developing countries, and it showed 4.1 per cent prevalence.
He explained that pregnant women were used to mirror the general population, adding that the biennial survey would be done at the end of 2012.
“No fatality rate can be actually calculated, since we do not have actual figures of the numbers of people dying annually from AIDS. However, it is estimated from modelling that there are 215,000 deaths annually.
“Antiretroviral drugs are free and people are getting them free. However, there are challenges when people living with HIV/AIDS do not access these drugs from their nearest antiretroviral therapy sites, usually due to stigma and discrimination. Sometimes, there are temporary issues with distribution of the drugs from the various warehouses to health facilities and clinics.”
Idoko said there was no cure for the ailment in sight, particularly from the traditional medicine operatorsand called for more funding of research in the quest for the cure.
The NACA boss, who said it was untrue that government spent more money on AIDS than other diseases in the country, however, said 74 per cent of the funds spent on HIV/AIDS came from donors. He added that the agency was working hard to get more domestic funding.
He further said, “The belief that trado-medical practitioners can get a cure is not new; it has been with us from the discovery of the virus. It is only a well-articulated scientific research that will lead us to the cure and while there is a declaration for a need for a ‘Cure for AIDS,’ we need to work with more investment in HIV vaccine research to see whether this is feasible. This is still many years to come.”
He added, “We have continued to decentralise our HIV services to communities through the primary health care clinics across the country. We are integrating HIV services with maternal and child health, tuberculosis and malaria. We are also strengthening the health and community systems, and our hope is that all these will assist to drive down the HIV prevalence in the country.”
Meanwhile, a draft document provided by the agency, entitled, ‘National AIDS Spending Assessment for 2009-2012: Level and Flow of Resources and Expenditures on the National HIV/AIDS Response,’ showed that HIV funding increased from $299,246,295.00 (N4.67bn) in 2007 to the $496,917,471.00 (N6.5bn) in 2012.
It read, “The total HIV/AIDS spendings by financing sources for 2009 and 2010 were $415,287,430 and $496,917,471, respectively. The public funds amounted to 23.55% and 25.18%; private funds 0.07% and 0.17%; while international funds accounted for 76.39% and 74.65% of this expenditure, respectively.
“The HIV/AIDS expenditure for 2009 and 2010 by financing agents for public source stood at $98,073,517 and $125,294,375; private financing agents had $4,256,866 and $26,774,251; while international funding agents spent $312,957,047.00 and $344,848,845, respectively.”
The document further showed that out-of-pocket expenditure was $170,634,393 (N2.7bn) in 2009 and $202,290,739 (N3.2bn) in 2012 for HIV services.
“Government funding increased in 2010. However, funding for the implementation of the vast majority of HIV/AIDS goods and services was heavily dependent on international funds,” it stated.
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