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WHO Africa Region lauds steps to finding therapies, cures for HIV, Sickle Cell Disease

The NIH and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation collaboration will align aggressive, high-reward research efforts to accelerate progress on shared gene-based strategies (depicted in purple) to cure sickle cell disease and HIV that are available globally including in low-resource settings, while continuing to invest in other parallel research efforts on cures for these two diseases outside of the collaboration. Credit: NIH

By Vivian Ihechu
Lagos, Oct. 24, 2019 (NAN) The WHO Africa Regional Office on Thursday lauded steps by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to potentially find new therapies and possible cures for two diseases that affect millions of Africans.

NIH is the U.S. medical research agency which includes 27 institutes and centres and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa

Dr Tshidi Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, spoke at a teleconference on the NIH’s new collaboration to develop gene-based cures for the two diseases- Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and HIV on global scale.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NIH plans to invest at least 100 million dollars over the next four years toward a bold goal of developing affordable, gene-based cures for Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and HIV.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will also invest 100 million dollars toward this goal.

The intention is for these cures to be made globally available in low-resource settings as well as scale and implement these treatments globally in areas hardest hit by these diseases.

The collaboration sets out a bold goal of advancing safe, effective and durable gene-based cures to clinical trials in U.S. and relevant countries in sub-Saharan Africa within the next seven to 10 years.

This initiative followed an announcement made earlier this year by President Donald Trump during the State of the Union Address to end the HIV epidemic in U.S in the next 10 years.

Moeti said: “ This investment sets an encouraging precedent in designing innovative tools for use in low-income settings from the beginning, rather than seeking to modify approaches used in high-income contexts.

“It is imperative that we strive to ensure that HIV and sickle cell therapies are affordable to the most affected people, who generally come from poor communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

“We are aware that in the past, attempts have been made to develop genetic therapies for both diseases and that progress has slowed due to insufficient investment in research and development.

“History has taught us that using the same tools over and over leads to a plateauing in impact.

“ To ensure that we sustain reductions in the burdens of these diseases, we need to continue investing in the development of new therapies and strategies and that’s why WHO welcomes this collaboration.’’

On the burden of the diseases, Moeti said that over two thirds of the 20 million people globally with sickle cell disease live in Africa.

“The prevalence of the sickle cell trait is also high and is estimated to be up to 40 per cent in some populations in the region.

“Worse still, over 75 per cent of the children born with sickle cell each year are in Africa.

“Unfortunately, many of these children die before their fifth birthday because of inadequate healthcare and a lack of access to available treatments.

“Also, the first cases of HIV in Africa were detected in the early 1980s; as of 2018, a total of 25.7 million people are living with HIV in the region, this is over two thirds of the global burden.”

Also, Dr Trevor Mundel, President, Global Health Programme, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said: “In recent years, gene-based treatments have been groundbreaking for rare genetic disorders and infectious diseases.

“While these treatments are exciting, people in low- and middle-income countries do not have access to these breakthroughs.

“By working with the NIH and scientists across Africa, we aim to ensure these approaches will improve the lives of those most in need and bring the incredible promise of gene therapy to the world of public health.”

Also, Dr Francis Collins, NIH Director, said: “This unprecedented collaboration focusses from the get-go on access, scalability and affordability of advanced gene-based strategies for SCD and HIV.

“This is to make sure everybody, everywhere has the opportunity to be cured, not just those in high-income countries,” he said. (NAN)
VIV/GOK
Edited by Olagoke Olatoye

Health

Association conducts free HIV, hepatitis screening on 5,000 persons in Nasarawa

Association conducts free HIV, hepatitis screening on 5,000 persons in Nasarawa

By Awayi Kuje
Testing
Keffi (Nasarawa State), Oct. 3, 2019 (NAN) Mass Communication Students’ Association (MACOSA), Nasarawa State University Keffi, has commenced free HIV and Hepatitis screening and counselling for 5,000 people in the state.
This is to enable the beneficiaries know their status for the overall development of the country.
Mr Moses John, the President of the association, disclosed this in Keffi on Thursday during the flag-off ceremony of the screening and distribution of condoms to residents.
John said that the importance of health to societal development cannot be over emphasised, hence the need for the screening to enable people know their health status.
He also disclosed that the programme was in collaboration with the Nasarawa State AIDS Control Agency (NASACA) and the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria.
“The essence of this exercise is to ensure that students know their status with a view to living a life that will contribute to national development and curtail the spread of both HIV and Hepatitis viruses.
“It is when people know their health status that it will help them know how to go about getting medication or not.
“It is often said that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation, hence the need for people to always know their health status in the interest and overall development of the country,” he said.
According to him, our target is members of the university community, especially students of Mass Communication as we are targeting about 5,000 members of the university community.
John urged students and other members of the university community to avail themselves with the opportunity in order to improve on their health status.
He expressed gratitude to Prof. Suleiman Mohammed, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, for flagging off the exercise and for giving attention to the welfare of students.
The MACOSA president however solicited more support from its members and other stakeholders to make the programme succeed.
While flagging off the exercise, the vice chancellor of the university commended the association for initiating the programme.
Mohammed called on the students and other members of the university community to always give adequate attention to their health through regular medical check-up.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some beneficiaries, especially students, commended the association for the initiative and called for its sustenance. (NAN)
AKW/ZGA/MST
Edited by Zainab Garba/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

NACA, stakeholders list benefits of HIV intervention sites in C/River

NACA, stakeholders list benefits of HIV intervention sites in C/River
By Christian Njoku
Benefits
Calabar, June 24, 2019 (NAN) The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) in collaboration with other stakeholders in Cross River have declared interventions in the state a huge success.
Speaking to journalists on Monday in Calabar during a NACA-led tour of HIV intervention sites across the state, the stakeholders, however, conceded that few teething problems were yet to be surmounted.
The tour, which is part of NACA’s efforts to encourage best practices and successes of the health centres in the state in administering care to patients living with HIV, was to reshape the policies as well as rejig HIV interventions, where needed.
The Leader of NACA team, Mr Shimsugh Chagbe, said the tour was also to get journalists acquainted with the challenges of the health centres used as intervention sites as well as interact with some HIV patients on how they are coping with stigma and their knowledge of the anti-stigma law in Cross River.
Mr Ifere Obeten, the Prevention Officer, Cross River State Agency for the Control of AIDS (SACA), said the state’s agency controlled a multi-sectoral response on HIV and AIDS.
Obeten explained that the prevalence of the virus in Cross River had been brought down to an all-time low of two per cent.
He added there are ongoing efforts by the state government toward bringing the prevalence level further down; taking cognisance of the state’s proximity to two high prevalence states, including Akwa Ibom and Benue.
In one of the intervention sites at the General Hospital Calabar, the Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) Coordinator, Mrs Catherine Eyo, disclosed that the facility had 3,250 flow-in patients, coming in daily for health talk, nutrition, hygiene and adherence to medication.
Eyo said 98.2 per cent of pregnant patients that registered with the intervention site gave birth to negative babies, because the new medication was seriously suppressing the viral load of patients.
“We have also established community pharmacies with trained care-givers to cater for patients who are far away from major facilities.
“The patients pay a token of N1,000 monthly to get their drugs instead of travelling long distances to get the drugs,” she said.
She, however, asked for a better accommodation as the one they presently used in the general hospital was formerly a laboratory and was not big and conducive enough for the patients as they come in daily.
In another site, the Primary Health Care Centre, Big Qua, Calabar, the Community Health Officer, Mrs Helen Osim, stated that pregnant women in the community were being educated on issues of HIV-AIDS whenever they came for ante-natal.
She said the women were especially tutored on the benefits of getting tested and the need for strict adherence to the drugs by those who are positive; to prevent mother to child transfer.
Osim said they constantly explained to Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) that every pregnant woman that comes to them for ante-natal must first be tested for HIV, those who are positive should be brought to the health centre for proper care.
“At the beginning it was difficult, but after constant counselling, many of them now adhere to the drugs; we also remind them by calling them on phones and taking the drugs to the homes of those that were shy of coming to the centre for fear of stigma.
“We, however, need a Dry Blood Sample (DBS) machine to be able to effectively carryout tests instead of waiting for the riders that often delay in coming to take blood samples to the secondary and tertiary health facilities for test.
“We also need a refrigerator to preserve samples, vaccines and consumables like test strips and other disposables should always be made available,” she said.
Also speaking at the Primary Health Centre, Akim, Calabar, the Chief Community Health Officer, Mrs Nsa Ekpeyong, said the facility had 13 registered HIV patients out of which seven were pregnant.
Ekpeyong said they carried out voluntary testing and counselling for HIV and partnered with TBAs by going to their centres with test kits to test pregnant women and bring those who are positive to the health centre for drugs.
“We have special ways of attending to patients, ensuring that their identity remained confidential, while for those who are afraid to come to us, we go to them.

“We train our staff to pamper our clients, because a dissatisfied client would stop coming to the facility for drugs and that is not good for the fight against the virus.
“We still have the challenge of a lot of people not agreeing that they are positive and so refuse to come for the drugs, which are absolutely free and readily available; they prefer to go to churches and herbalists for herbal medicines,” she said.
For a TBA, Deaconess Ikwo Duke, no pregnant woman comes to her centre without getting tested for HIV.
Duke said she called in nurses from the health centres to come and carry out the tests on the women and any that was found to be positive would be taken to the health centres for proper care.
“Anyone who is positive is sent to the health centre where they have the facilities and professionals to handle them, even those that insist to remain here, I reject because I need to be alive too.
“I am not authorised to test people for HIV; that is not my line.
“In the past, they used to find about five to six people, but today there is a great improvement, we hardly find them now,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NACA has introduced a toll free line 6222 to help in the dissemination of information on HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
The line is accessible from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays. (NAN)
CBN/KTO/MST
Edited by Kamal Tayo Oropo/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

World close to attaining HIV treatment – NACA

World close to attaining HIV treatment – NACA

By Olasunkanmi Onifade
HIV
Abuja, Dec. 13, 2018 (NAN) The Director-General of National Action for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr Sani Aliyu, says the world is about 10 to 15 years close to attaining treatment or total cure of HIV.

Aliyu stated this at a three-day regional workshop for country coordinators of International Community of Women Living with HIV West Africa (ICWWA) aimed at achieving catch up plans and attainment of 90-90-90 global prevention targets.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and partners had in 2014 launched the 90–90–90 targets.

It is aimed at diagnosing 90 per cent of all HIV-positive persons, providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 90 per cent of those diagnosed and achieving viral suppression for 90 per cent of those treated by 2020.

The director-general said although there was no cure presently for the epidemic, there was however, a very effective treatment which would give people living with the virus opportunity to live a normal life.

“In Nigeria, only about one in four Nigerians have had the HIV test done.

“Our survey in the past shows that majority, up to 80 per cent Nigerians, would love to have the HIV test done.”

Aliyu, however, listed challenges in the HIV fight to include lack of advocacy, access to testing and general knowledge about HIV.

“Addressing key population groups and other groups that are vulnerable to HIV such as young women; as well as addressing structural and social factors,’’ he said.

He said most countries were attaining the targets or about to hit the target 90-90-90, but Nigeria’s biggest challenge was the first 90 as only about three per cent of people living with HIV, know their diagnosis.

Aliyu said the agency had a strategic plan for 2019 to reduce the rate of Persons Living With HIV/AIDS, saying there will be community participation and engagement in remotes areas.

He added that there would be decentralisation of services, improvement of laboratory services and point of care test to improve the services; as well as provision of a strengthened healthcare system aimed at addressing the barriers to accessing treatment.

“About 60 per cent new HIV infections are women, unlike men that have other prevention interventions that achieve a lot, so there is need to prioritise the challenges among women.

“Government is committed to the continuous work with CSOs that deals with Persons Living With HIV, we cannot have policies without engaging them.

“With HIV, we have gone long way in terms of global response and strong advocacy role by the CSOs, but there is need to address the issues of gender based violence and discrimination,” Aliyu said.

The Regional Chairperson ICWWA, Mrs Ndeye Dioup, said the workshop was aimed at strengthening the capacity and influence of ICWWA for countries to fully implement strategies to access HIV prevention and care services. (NAN)
OEO/DOR/MST
Edited by Nyisom Dire/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

HIV couples give birth to 72 negative babies in Bauchi 

HIV couples give birth to 72 negative babies in Bauchi
By Mohammed Ahmed Kaigama
Couples
Bauchi, Dec. 2, 2018 (NAN) Dr Muhammad Alkali, the Chairman, Bauchi State Agency for the Control HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy And Malaria (BACATMA), says some HIV positive couples has given birth to 72 negative and healthy babies in the state.
Alkali disclosed this at a news conference to mark the 2018 World AIDS Day celebration in Bauchi on Sunday.
“Around 156 HIV couples in the state have kicked the dreaded infection in the womb with medical interventions.
“The 72 babies of HIV-positive couples have delivered them healthy and negative of HIV,” Alkali said.
According to him, since the establishment of the agency in 2008, it organised and supported matched making marriages of 156 couples resulting in the delivery of 72 babies tested negative.
He said the agency also procured and distributed 120,000 units of HIV rapid test kits to 323 health facilities to strengthen prevention of mother to child transmission of the virus.
Alkali said the agency is supporting HIV/AIDS victims with food stuff of varying functions in the body to encourage the people living with HIV.
The state Chairman of Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, Malam Usman Abubakar, commended the agency for helping to organise the marriage of couples living with HIV/AIDS in the state.
Abubakar noted that the state government had spent about N3.8 million on the project by paying between N20,000 and N30,000 as bride price for each couple who got married during the period.
“The government supported and organised marriages that had brought our members closed to people and government which impacted positively and encourage the impressive number of babies that tested negative to the HIV virus,” he said. (NAN)
MAK/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

HIV Trust Fund to be functional March 2019 – NACA

HIV Trust Fund to be functional March 2019 – NACA
By Angela Atabo
NACA
Abuja, Nov. 13, 2018 (NAN) The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) says the Nigerian HIV/AIDS Trust Fund will be functional by March 2019.
The Director-General of NACA, Dr Sani Aliyu, announced this at the 2018 Civil Society Organisations Accountability Forum.
The forum was themed: “Domestic Resource Mobilisation: Increasing Public and Private Sector Investment”, on Tuesday in Abuja.
Aliyu said that the virus could be controlled but the challenge was funding, thus the need for the establishment of the fund.
“The HIV Trust Fund of Nigeria has been adopted by private sector, it is an initiative that would be private sector driven and it would be launched in March 2019.
“Its main function would be to bring funding into HIV treatment, with this trust fund, emphasis would be shifted from just treatment to prevention.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has also directed that the full amount for the HIV/AIDS treatment should be released to fast track results,” he said.
Aliyu said that there was an ongoing Nigeria HIV and AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) to establish the status of people living with the scourge.
He said that the survey would help the government know the number of persons affected with the diseases in the country and to provide adequate treatment and care for the patients.
He said that the outcome of the survey would define Nigeria’s new HIV and AIDS status in terms of prevalence and in terms of incidence.
He added that the data emerging from the survey would change the outlook of HIV in Nigeria and shift the narrative from treatment to prevention.
He commended the CSOs for the initiative, adding that the conference was the first of its kind.
Declaring the conference open, Mrs Pauline Tallen, NACA Board Chairperson, commended the contribution of CSOs in the fight against HIV in Nigeria.
Tallen reiterated government commitment to supporting CSOs in Nigeria, adding: “I assure you that government is fully appreciative of what you are doing.’’
She noted that with the support from CSOs, NACA was reaching the unreached.
She said that NACA’s desire was to put in more effort to ensure that HIV mothers give birth to safe children, adding that so far the statistic is encouraging.
Tallen said that last week NACA visited the clinic in Asokoro and the report was that all mothers living with HIV were having safe children virtually 98 per cent of them.
She said it was an encouraging result and NACA would keep on doing its best to protecting mothers and children against HIV.
Dr Walter Ogwuocha, the Executive Secretary, Civil Society for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria ( CiSHAN), said that the CSOs had come a long way in advocacy to ensure that the government do the right thing.
Ogwuocha said that CSOs believed that HIV/AIDS national response was the responsibility of the country government as obtainable everywhere else in the world.
He regretted that over the years the Nigerian government had been snagging in ensuring that they commit commensurate resources to fight the virus.
He said that was the narrative CSOs wanted to change through this accountability forum.
“We want to hold government responsible and accountable to their promises, we also want to hold them responsible to the lives of those living with HIV and AIDS.
“We also want to hold them accountable to ensuring that we do enough testing in Nigeria to make sure that everyone joins hands together to ending AIDS in Nigeria in 2030.’’
Ogwuocha said that to achieve this, CSOs would do a holistic engagement with the government at the national level asking them to step up and increase the number of those on treatment on government purse.
He said that a milestone was achieved when the government agreed that every year there would be 50,000 persons that would be put newly on the government treatment programme.
He however said that CSOs would work to see that the 50,000 was not just promise but actual numbers by next year.
He also urged the private sector to as well contribute their resources by buying the HIV and AIDS commodities and distribute to facilities so people living with the virus could access.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that over 10 countries were in Nigeria to attend the pan-African event.
The event is aimed at changing the HIV and AIDS prevalence status through improved funding. (NAN)
ATAB/BOLA/MST
Edited by Bola Akingbehin/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Research shows PrEP safe, effective prevention of HIV

Research shows PrEP safe, effective prevention of HIV
By Akeem Abas
Prevention
Ibadan, Oct. 30, 2018 (NAN) A new research presented at the HIV Drug Therapy Conference in Glasgow has revealed that Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) could be given to millions of people worldwide to prevent new HIV infections.
The research also indicated that the drug had no increased risk of safety issues during treatment.
This is contained in a statement signed by Mandy Sugrue, Communications Director, International AIDS Society (IAS), and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Tuesday.
NAN reports that PrEP is a combination of two drugs that people could take before sex to prevent HIV infection.
The statement said that existing evidence showed that people who take Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF) and Emtricitabine (FTC) as PrEP have a 90 per cent lower chance of being infected with HIV than people that do not take it.
It said that widespread use of TDF and FTC could be justified only if its preventative benefits outweighed potential risks of safety issues, explaining that new results presented at the conference revealed that PrEP was safe to use.
The statement said that researchers undertook a meta-analysis of 13 randomized trials with 15,678 participants to reach the conclusions.
It said that people at risk of HIV infection were given either TDF and FTC as PrEP or no treatment (the control, or placebo).
“There was no significant difference in risk of high grade or serious adverse events comparing PrEP with control. The risk of serious adverse events was almost the same for both groups: 9.4 per cent for those on PrEP and 10.1 per cent for those on placebo.
“There was also no significant difference in risk of renal or bone adverse outcomes. The risk of bone fractures was 3.7 per cent on PrEP versus 3.3 per cent on no treatment.
“The risk of significant renal dysfunction was 0.1 per cent on PrEP and 0.1 per cent for no treatment,” the statement read in part.
Anton Pozniak, IAS President, said that in 2016, there were 1.8 million new HIV infections worldwide and the same number again in 2017.
“Across a range of studies, men who have sex with men have one in 30 chance of contracting HIV in a year.
“Others, particularly vulnerable populations’, such as people who inject drugs or sex workers, have a one in 50 chance of being infected with HIV.
“Worldwide, there are only 300,000 people estimated to be taking PrEP. This is far too small a number to prevent 1.8 million new HIV infections,” he said.
Pozniak said that to achieve significant effect on the HIV epidemic, there was needed to scale up PrEP to reach tens of millions of people worldwide.
He said that other PrEP modalities, such as long-acting injectable drugs and antibodies were being tested in order to offer more choices of how PrEP could be taken.
According to him, “WHO updated its official guidelines in 2015 to include the use of PrEP as a prevention method. The data is clear and it is time to globally implement this recommendation”.
Dr Andrew Hill from Liverpool University said there were new HIV infections every 18 seconds globally.
“Every person newly infected will then need to be treated for life, and could transmit HIV to others. We need radical changes in our prevention strategy to cut new HIV infections down to zero,” he said.
Hill said that the most widely used PrEP, a combination of TDF and FTC costs only £40 per year to make, saying a generic TDF/FTC course is available in the UK for £300 per year and £50 in sub-Saharan Africa.
“With recent legal rulings, low-cost, generic PrEP is becoming more available. This provides an opportunity, with the decreasing costs making it increasingly feasible to provide PrEP to millions of people at risk of HIV worldwide,” Hill said.
The statement said that another recent analysis, showed no difference in adverse events between TDF/FTC and a combination of Tenofovir Alafenamide (TAF) and FTC when taken for treatment with an additional antiviral drug. (NAN)
TAA/PD/MST
Edited by Philip Dzeremo/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

HIV prevention: Group canvasses sustainable funding

HIV/AIDS prevention: Group canvasses sustainable funding
By Akeem Abas
Funding
Ibadan, Oct. 26, 2018 (NAN) The Resource Tracking for HIV Prevention Research and Development Working Group has called for sustained funding to support innovative HIV prevention research and rollout.
The group made the appeal in a presentation at the HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P 2018) conference on Thursday in Madrid, Spain.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that HIVR4P conference is the world’s only scientific conference dedicated exclusively to biomedical HIV prevention.
Some members of the group include Fatima Riaz, Kevin Fisher and Mitchell Warren of AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC), as well as Jennifer Maple and Margaret Lidstone of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), U.S.
Others are Deepak Mattur and Jose Antonio Izazola-Licea of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Switzerland.
These had since 2004, tracked trends in Research and Development (R&D) investments, as well as expenditures for biomedical HIV prevention options.
According to the group, research conducted reveals decline in funding of HIV prevention research and that progress toward impactful prevention programming can be lost without sustained funding.
“There is need to diversify the funding base by investing in sustainable and acceptable interventions that would end the epidemic.
“Results from the findings revealed that in 2017, funding for HIV prevention research and development declined by 3.6 per cent from 2016 to 1.12 billion dollars.
“Funding for HIV vaccines, microbicides, TasP and PMTCT decreased, funding towards PrEP and VMMC increased by 55 per cent and 64 per cent, respectively,’’ it stated.
The group said that U.S public sector investment declined by 6.5 per cent with funding levels at the National Institutes for Health (NIH) hitting a six-year low.
According to it, as a way of cushioning the impact of declining U.S funding, there is increased investment from Canada, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands Ireland and Italy.
The group noted that philanthropic investment also rose slightly, with Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation remaining the predominant funder, accounting for over 90 per cent of sector funding.
It also said that the research specifically tailored to the needs of transgender and cisgender women amounted to US 201 million dollars or 71 per cent of overall non-vaccine investment.
“Data was collected through annual surveys and direct outreach on disbursements by public, private and philanthropic funders.
“Disbursements for product development, clinical trials, implementation and behavioural research, as well as policy and advocacy were also collated to estimate annual investment in HIV prevention research and development,’’ it said.
“This data was collated in U.S dollars and investment trends were assessed; it was compared by year, prevention type, research phase, sector and geographic location.
“The area of concentration included HIV vaccines, microbicides, PrEP, treatment as prevention (TasP), voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC), prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) and female condoms,” the group said. (NAN)
TAA/VIV/MST
Editing by Vivian Ihechu/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Adolescent females majority of people living with HIV – WHO

Adolescent women majority of people living with HIV – WHO
By Yashim Katurak
Women
Abuja, Sept. 25, 2018 (NAN) The World Health Organisation (WHO) says women, especially adolescents between 15 and 24 years, represent the majority of people living with HIV globally.
According to a report on ‘Women and Health’ released on its website on Tuesday, the organisation said that globally, adolescent girls and young women account for two out of three new HIV infections.
The report said that an estimated 18 per cent of girls are sexually abused at some point in their childhood as against eight per cent for boys.
It said that adolescent girls experienced a greater risk of sexual abuse and face harmful practices such as child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
The report said that majority of girls who became sexually active during their adolescent years were often coerced or forced to have sex including other forms of Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
The organisation said that each year, about 15 million girls were married before the age of 18 years, adding that globally, one in three women in their lifetime were likely to experience physical or sexual violence.
The organisation attributed the root cause of these inequitable health outcomes for women and girls to gender equality.
“Globally, adolescent girls and young women account for two out of three new HIV infections. In certain cultures, gender-based discrimination disadvantages girls through sex-selective abortion and female infanticide.
“Women and girls in areas of conflict and displacement suffer disproportionately as a result of disruption of health systems, exacerbation of barriers to healthcare, and use of rape and other forms of violence as weapons of war.
“About 16 million girls aged 15 to 19 years and one million girls under 15 years give birth every year with an estimated three million unsafe abortions taking place globally every year among this age group.
“Every day, approximately 830 women die from preventable causes relating to pregnancy and childbirth and in households and communities, women are the primary sources of care giving.
“In 2016, global life expectancy at birth was 74.2 years for females and 69.8 years for males.
“Although the figure shows that women live longer than men, women experience more morbidity and use healthcare services more than men especially linked to reproductive health needs,” the report read in part.
WHO said that women contribute more to health than any other sector and must therefore be recognised and valued for their contribution, saying that this can be done by addressing gender biases and inequalities in the health and social workforce.
The organisation pledged to continue to work assiduously to improve women’s health by strengthening access to and delivery of health services.
According to the report, this includes sexual and reproductive health issues such as maternal care, access to integrated services for HIV and tuberculosis, preventing GBV, cancer, diabetes and other diseases.
The organisation said that it was working with member states to help strengthen the capacity of the health system and of healthcare providers to respond to violence against women and sexual abuse of children and adolescents.
WHO said it would achieve this by implementing the Global plan of action on strengthening the role of the health system to address violence in particular against women, girls and children. (NAN)
KRY/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Agency says early sex initiation increases HIV vulnerability

Agency says early sex initiation increases HIV vulnerability
By Awayi Kuje
Initiation
Keffi (Nasarawa State), Aug. 30, 2018 (NAN) The Nasarawa State AIDS Control Agency (NASACA) has identified early sex initiation as one of the factors increasing vulnerability of HIV/AIDS among Adolescent and Young Persons (AYP) in the state.
The Executive Director of the agency, Dr Ruth Adabe, said this on Thursday in Keffi while presenting an overview of PMTCT and AYP of the state at a two-day meeting with media chief executives, reporters and producers in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting is co-organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Kaduna Field Office, and the National Orientation Agency (NOA).
Adabe, who was represented by Dr Peter Attah, the state’s HIV/AIDS and STIs Control Programme Officer, also identified early child marriage among girls, low and lack of knowledge and appropriate counselling as factors responsible for increasing the vulnerability of the scourge among the AYPs in the state.
According to her, the agency had noted that early child marriage among girls as young as 15 years give birth to their first child before 18 in some communities in the state.
She also identified youthful exuberance as playing a significant role in the rise of HIV/AIDS vulnerability among youths.
“Low and lack of knowledge and the youthful exuberance also plays role in increasing HIV vulnerability in adolescents and young people.
“Inter-generational relationships are also common as a driver for the spread of HIV, Adabe said.
She added that the mode of transmission of HIV in adolescents and young people are in two ways, viz:
“Vertical Transmission: According to an estimate, globally, about 90% of HIV positive adolescents acquire the infection perinatally. In Nigeria, vertical transmission of HIV is the second most common mode of transmission of HIV after sexual intercourse.
“Despite the contribution of perinatal infection to the incidence of HIV infection in adolescents and young people, it is seldom studied by the scholarly community and its impact remains unknown.
“Horizontal/Sexual Transmission: Sexual transmission of HIV is the most common route of HIV transmission in young people. It accounts for about 50% of the 35.3 million under 25 young persons living with HIV.’’
While calling on youths and other Nigerians to always know their HIV status in the interest of their health and for the overall development of the country, the executive scribe pointed out that only few AYP test for HIV regularly.
Earlier, Mr Rabiu Musa, the Communication Officer of UNICEF, Kaduna Filed Office, explained that the aimed of the meeting was to provide knowledge/orientation to the participants on PMTCT, AYP and HIV/AIDS situation so as to tackle the menace in the country.
NAN also reports that commitments are expected from the various media representatives on how to scale up public awareness on the dangers of HIV/AIDS and prevention measures. (NAN)
AKW/GOM/MST
Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam/Muhammad Suleiman Tola