Lagos targets lower HIV/AIDS prevalence

The Lagos State Government on Thursday said about five per cent of the states population are living with HIV.The government also said it was working on measures to reduce the risk of HIV infection and further lower its prevalence.The government agenda was stated through the state AIDS Control Agency at the celebration of 2011 World AIDS Day.LASACA Head of Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr. Dayo Olajide, who delivered a paper, Getting to Zero- zero new HIV infection, zero discrimination, zero AIDS related death, said the objective of the 2011 World AIDS could be achieved, especially in the state.She said, "The fact is that with a prevalence of 5.1 per cent in the state, about 95 per cent of the population is negative and we need to keep them that way. HIV is a largely preventable infection and we need to ensure that we keep up the efforts to ensure the larger majority stay uninfected."Olajide explained that the state had procured a large number of drugs needed for the treatment of AIDS, saying, "Raising the threshold for treatment will contribute to zero death through increasing the number of people on treatment."The Head of Project Office, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, who represented the Executive Director of LSACA, Dr. Fausat Dabiri, said although AIDS related deaths were gradually reducing, there was a need to work more on eliminating discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.He said, "Getting to zero means looking at things that can prevent HIV and thus its consequences."The Chief Executive Officer of Friends of Africa, Dr. Akudo Anyanwu-Ikemba, who was the special guest of honour, said Africa had surpassed expectations in its management of HIV/AIDS.She urged stakeholders in the battle against HIV to look inward for funding instead of relying on foreign donors."Last year, about $5m was raised in Africa. It showed that the level of readiness to battle the scourge is increasing," she said.
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