In 21 countries, HIV/AIDS is the major reason for death and in another seven countries; it is the second leading cause of disease burden.
From published reports on the 21st of August in the study, “The Burden of HIV: Insights from the GBD 2010” in the peer-reviewed journal AIDS, it showed that in 1990, 9.2% of deaths in Nigeria were as a result of HIV/AIDS. This is a minute difference, a reduction of only 14.2%, since the disease escalated in Nigeria in 2004 meanwhile, Benin, Mali, Ghana, and others moved at a faster pace, a lot more needs to be done in Nigeria.
According to a study from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, USA, HIV/AIDS burden has escalated tremendously in Nigeria moving up from the number 32 cause of burden in 1990 to the number 2 cause in 2010.
Reports from the study revealed that HIV/AIDS was responsible for more than 9 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), or years of life lost to premature death plus years lived with disability; and this means 7.4% of Nigeria’s overall disease burden.
HIV/AIDS has been responsible for untimely death in a lot of people especially children and young adults. The figures increased 27-fold from 1990-2010. Children and young adults have been the worst hit as the report shows that in 1990, Nigerians had an estimated 312,029 years of life lost to HIV/AIDS; in 2010, that figures increased to 8,598,420 years.
According to Alani Sulaimon Akanmu, professor of haematology & blood transfusion, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), “what we are saying is that it is not impossible that with high initiation of this treatment, one may have a chance of getting cured because we know that cure is not available for the virus because the virus hits at the pivotal cells of our immunity. The younger ones have a higher chance of being infected with HIV/AIDS therefore, public awareness at all levels must continue and funding is required”
“Funding is required for those who are infected to be treated. In treating the infected person, funding is also needed for those who will deliver ART, there is need to invest money in training of doctors because today in schools, curriculum of training medical students of pharmacy and nurses does not include treatment for those with HIV/AIDS and this is something that is very important, we do not have graduates coming from medical institutions having knowledge on how to manage HIV/AIDS, it is those already in service that are having in-service training that are used to manage these cases and we have to invest so much money in the training and re-training of doctors, pharmacists, nurses, lab scientists and record keeping people. ART is a life treatment which must not stop, once it stops, resistance is developed and that is dangerous. The patient’s liver, kidney, bone marrow and others need to be monitored so funds are required for investment of efficacy and toxicity.”
Still on ART, IHME researchers agree that there have been a lot of improvement towards the fight of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Between 2002 and 2010, development assistance for health targeting HIV/AIDS increased from US$1.4 billion to US$6.8 billion which is an increase of 385.7% and it does not involve finances used by low- and middle-income countries themselves. Increased access to antiretroviral has helped the reduction and more effort is being made to halt mother-to-child transmission.
Kemi Ajumobi
