The Director General of the National
Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Professor John Idoko, announced that
about 3.2 million Nigerians are living with the HIV virus but that about 40% of
that number are not aware of their status.
He said this at the 2014 NACA/MDG
medical outreach & HIV counselling and testing in Kafanchan, Kaduna State
yesterday.
Professor Idoko, who was
represented by the acting Director of Programmes Co-ordination Department at
NACA, Dr. Priscilla Ibekwe, urged Nigerians to go to hospital and know their
HIV status.
“NACA is working to raise awareness about
HIV/AIDS in Nigeria to give opportunity to people to know their status, because
it is better for people to know their status. When they know their status and
find out they are negative, they will do everything to remain negative,” he
said.
Also speaking at the
event, Kaduna State Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero who was represented by his
deputy, Nuhu Audu Bajoga, advised the people of the state to take the issue of
HIV/AIDS seriously and mentioned that the 9.2% prevalence rate of HIV in Kaduna
is the highest in North West Nigeria.
According to him, the state has
received funding support from the World Bank and other development partners
like UNICEF, ICAP, DFID, UNDP AIDS Relief, USAID and PATHS 1 and 2 among others
to fight the scourge.
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