The director general, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Prof John Idoko, has said that Nigeria is at a critical stage of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. According to him, having reached the progress of halting HIV/AIDS transmission to less than 4 per cent in 2010, the country is now on its way to eliminating the scourge. Idoko made these disclosures yesterday in Abuja when he led the management team of the agency on a courtesy visit to the headquarters of LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group.“We want to see how we can put together, knowledge and information that goes to the public. It can help a lot in our journey to end HIV.” Continuing, he said, “We are saying that this disease that has killed well over 30 million people worldwide and infected another 40 million, we can bring it to a situation that it is no longer a problem to the world. To do this, we still need to struggle a lot.” Idoko said the agency is putting together a number of things, including Vision 2020, aimed at identifying 90 per cent of those infected with HIV and placing them on treatment.
He said the drugs will help to suppress the virus and prevent it from being transmitted to an HIV negative person. According to him, this is one of the new discoveries from the several studies that have been ongoing and there is need for the media to pass this knowledge across.Responding, the group managing director, LEADERSHIP Holdings, Mr Mike Okpere, said it is in the interest of LEADERSHIP and every other media organisation to eradicate HIV in the country. He said, “It will be nice to bring these new HIV developments to the public so that people living in denial can come out of their closets.”
Source:Leadership Online
