Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria has said that out of 3.8 million Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS, only 747,382 have access to Anti-Retroviral Therapy.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Victor Omosehin, the National Coordinator of NEPHWAN said this during the swearing-in of the new national executives of the network in Abuja.
Omosehin said: “It means that Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS without access to treatment are on their way to an untimely death, if government does not act fast to arrest the situation.
He also explained that over 75 per cent of the treatment, care and support services for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis were donor dependent.
He said “The international donors are responsible for providing free access to range of tests that help to maintain quality of life which include CD4 count, viral load tests and other baseline screening.
He complained that the international donors are drastically reducing their spending, he said “It cost between N2,000 and N5,000 to carry out some of these tests and screening in a country where substantial number of its population live below N400 per day.
“These development had caused people living with the virus to discontinue their treatment.
“NEPHWAN believes that ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 is ambitious and realistic.
“To achieve this target, every person living with HIV in Nigeria deserves access to treatment without prejudice.
“As people living with HIV/AIDS, our continuous existence will depend on universal access to improved treatment, prevention care and support interventions.
“We want the government to take greater ownership of this public health challenge that causes 1.5 million children to be orphaned annually.”