USAID supports treatment of more 45,000 PLHIV in Oyo, Ondo

To move Nigeria towards epidemic control of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the United States (U.S.) has announced that it will identify and place an additional 45,000 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Oyo and Ondo states on life-saving antiretroviral treatment.

A breakdown of the figues showed that the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), administered by the U.S. Centre for Disease Control (CDC), is providing HIV treatment to more than 23,000 PLHIV in Oyo State and over 12,000 PLHIV in Ondo State.

The U.S. Consul-General Claire Pierangelo made this known during the launch of the HIV antiretroviral treatment (ART) surge programmes in Oyo and Ondo states, which held recently. “The PEPFAR Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) Surge programme identifies people living with HIV and places them on treatment for life. HIV treatment not only reduces HIV-related illnesses and death, but also helps prevent new infections,” Pierangelo said.

Speaking during a courtesy and advocacy visit to the Ondo State Government House, Pierangelo thanked the Deputy Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and senior members of the administration for their commitment to work with stakeholders, as the state implements the PEPFAR ART Surge.

She urged the Ondo State government to remove barriers hindering people living with HIV from accessing free services offered by the US government through the PEPFAR programme. Specifically, she highlighted the negative effect of user-fees as a major barrier to PLHIV accessing treatment and urged the elimination of such fees. In addition, she advocated the removal of antenatal care charges for pregnant women living with the virus.

Also in Oyo State, the Consul-General met with the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Olubamiwo Adeosun, who represented Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde. They discussed the U.S. government’s PEPFAR support in Nigeria’s policy development, human capacity building, and strengthening health systems, including the provision of state-of-the-art laboratories and pharmaceutical warehouses. While in Ibadan,  the Consul-General also visited the University College Hospital (UCH) where she toured the US CDC-supported ART clinic, as well as interacted with programme beneficiaries and management staff of the facility.

Pierangelo requested Oyo and Ondo state governments to prioritise the procurement of additional HIV test kits to support the current PEPFAR efforts. “The additional test kits are necessary for identifying PLHIV in various communities, and the rapid and sustained effort to put them on life-saving medications. This effort will ensure that they live normal, productive, and healthy lives, and break virus transmission.”

In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 8.2 million people received PEPFAR¬-supported HIV counseling and testing services in Nigeria. In each week of 2020, the US government, through PEPFAR, helped place 6,000 newly identified HIV-infected Nigerians on treatment, while also supporting quality HIV services for over 1 million HIV-infected Nigerians already in PEPFAR-supported care. Furthermore, more than 1.2 million pregnant women received HIV testing and counseling to prevent mother-to-child transmission, and about 1.3 million orphans and vulnerable children received PEPFAR-supported care and supportive services. In Nigeria alone, the US government has invested more than $6 billion over the years in the national HIV/AIDS response, toward supporting both national and state governments to identify and treat people living with HIV.

Written By: Adekunle Yusuf

Source: The Nation Newspaper

Link: https://thenationonlineng.net/usaid-supports-treatment-of-more-45000-plhiv-in-oyo-ondo/