Globally, in 2020, about 27.5 million people living with HIV received antiretroviral therapy, ART, a prescription for controlling HIV. The therapy has been a recommended treatment for all people living with HIV, regardless of their age and medical status, by the World Health Organisation since 2016.
The result from the Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS), which was conducted in 2018, shows that about 1.9 million people under the age of 64 are living with HIV in the country.
The latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the percentage of women with the infection increased from 53.1 per cent in 2016 to 55.5 in 2017, 55.83 in 2018 and 56.03 per cent in 2019. It means that approximately half of the projected population of HIV persons in the country are women.
In Nigeria, 20,695 children below nine years were newly infected with HIV in 2020 and about 30 per cent of AIDS-related deaths in 2020 occurred in children. However, only about 3.5 per cent of the 1,629,427 Nigerians receiving antiretroviral treatment are children.
Research shows that heterosexuality still accounts for the majority of transmissions of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria as many are still reluctant to disclose their infection status. Over 90% of transmissions were caused by unprotected sexual intercourse.
The fear of social discrimination has become the biggest barrier to the enforcement of disclosure. This demands a national emergency for intense socialization and destigmatisation.
