Lucky Obukohwo Reporting
Osun Agency for the Control of AIDS (O’SACA) has raised the alarm over the high rate of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Osun State saying that over 50,000 are living with the virus in the state.
He also said that the state is winning the war against it with over 28,000 receiving treatment out of about 50,000 people living with the disease in the state.
He tasked the people living with the disease to come out for tests so that they could start receiving treatment and be free from the disease.
Executive Secretary of the agency, Adeniyi Oginni, made the call while distributing HIV prevention tools to the stakeholders in Osogbo.
He said that the distribution of the commodities to all the 31 local Agency for the Control of AIDS (LACA managers), Network of People Living with AIDS (NEPWHAN), implementing partners, CBOs working on HIV, civil society working on HIV/AIDS (CiSHAN) and some ART clinics in the state, was part of efforts of Governor Ademola Adeleke to stop further spread of the disease.
According to him, no fewer than 50,000 people are still living with HIV in Osun with 28,000 of them already receiving treatment, saying: “Available statistics show that the prevalence of HIV in Osun State is 0.9 per cent. With an estimated population of 5.2 million people, this translates to about 50,000 persons living with the virus in the state.
“About 28,000 of them are already on treatment for HIV. There are still so many that have not come out to be tested. What we are saying is to let people come out to be tested. If you know your status, you will start treatment immediately and you will get to a level where you are no longer a threat to yourself or the community.
“Right now, the medicine they use can get to a level where they can no longer destroy your immune system and they can no longer transmit to another person.
“As part of the efforts of the state government to enhance prevention of the disease and a step towards achieving ownership of the HIV response for sustainability in the state, Governor Adeleke approved the procurement of prevention tools and test kits by O’SACA.
“We distributed prevention commodities geared towards the prevention of transmission of HIV infection from one person to another. These tools include condoms that prevent transmission during sexual activities, lancets that are used to do the test, and gloves that we use to protect individuals from biomedical hazards.
“They also include sharp boxes that are used to destroy any sharp instrument that has been used on clients in the community. There are medical consumables like methylated spirit, cotton wool and biomedical waste.
“The aim is to prevent further spread of HIV. Governor Adeleke gave us approval to procure the equipment as a mark of commitment.
“We hope this will go a long way in moving the state towards achieving the goal of zero new infections and contribute to the global goal of ending HIV and AIDS by the year 2030,” Oginni added.