Centre For Integrated Health Program (CIHP) has advocated for good medical service of HIV/AIDS and other healthcare services across the country.
CEO of CIHP, Dr Bolanle Oyeledun, made the call during a scientific roundtable series, in Abuja, organised by the Centre For Integrated Health Program (CIHP) with theme: “Reaching “zero”, Emerging dynamics of HIV epidemics in Nigeria”.
She said, “We still have over 800,000 gaps and you find out that, these gaps are more especially with the young people and also, we are making sure that we get to them.
“Many people living with HIV in Nigeria are not unaware of their status. Nigeria continues to fall short of providing the recommended number of HIV testing and counselling sites.
“Low levels of access to antiretroviral treatment remain the major issue for people living with HIV, meaning that there are still many AIDS-related deaths in Nigeria, due to poor medical treatment.
“This means giving them meaningful information about quality and costs in order for them to be active health care consumers. It also includes supporting innovative approaches to improving quality, accessibility, and affordability,” she said.
The survey review by CHIP shows that the South-South zone of the country has the highest HIV prevalence, at 3.1 per cent among adults aged 15–49 years. HIV prevalence is also high in the North Central zone (2.0 per cent) and in the South East zone (1.9 per cent). HIV prevalence is lower in the South West zone (1.1 per cent), the North East zone (1.1 per cent) and the North West zone (0.6 per cent).