The National Agency for the Control of AIDS has said deaths associated with HIV and AIDS were due to stigmatisation against persons living with the virus in their community.
Prof. John Idoko, Director-General of the agency, said this in Abuja at the Nigerian Academy of Science public lecture and induction of fellows of the academy.
The lecture is entitled “achieving an end to the AIDS epidemic: laying the ground work’’.
According to him, we must address stigma at our various communities, so that persons living with the virus can live normal life with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.
“The reason why people are dying is because of stigma, I encourage all communities to welcome with love, open arms and support people living with HIV.
“There is no reason why people should die of the virus because government has created more awareness on HIV.’’
Idoko said gender based violence and gender inequality must be addressed to enable the country achieve its fight on HIV and AIDS.
He also attributed the challenges to achieving viral suppression to inability of people to know their HIV status, late diagnosis of HIV infection and failure for HIV patients to link to care.
Idoko listed late initiative of ARV drugs and inability to achieve and maintain viral suppression as among other inhibitions, adding that viral suppression was suppressing or reducing the function and replication of HIV virus.
He said the end of AIDS would depend on “building on successes, learning from failures and implementing to scale – behavioural, biomedical and structural interventions.
Dzugala said with the efforts by the Federal Government and other stakeholders, the fight against HIV and AIDS would soon be won. (NAN)
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