No fewer than 81,871 residents in Ondo State have been infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), as of December 2016, a report from the State government has shown. In a report presented at the 2017 World Aids Day in the Akure on Friday, showed 5,048 people were newly infected; 8,048 were on treatment while 4,701 women were positive of the disease out of which 748 were on antiretroviral therapy in the year under review.
The report which was presented by the Chairman of the Ondo State Agency for the Control of AIDS and Secretary to the State Government, Ifedayo Abegunde at the ceremony held at the International Event Center in Akure, the state capital, gave the detailed statistics of the HIV/AIDS prevalence in the State.
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He said the current administration is led by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu would not relent in its effort to ensuring that the diseased is curbed and prevented in the state. The Secretary to the State Government, who noted that the state has ” HIV zero-prevalence of 1.6 per cent”, said that the government is putting the issue of the disease at the top of its political and practical agenda.
In his keynote address, the state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who declared the event open said the state government had been up and doing to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of the disease and also preventing new infections within the state. The governor noted that the state government had been doing its best to protect the people living with HIV from being stigmatized.
He said, “ Awareness and mobilization are going to be scaled up in the state. Also, an investment in testing, treatment and elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV will slow down the spread of HIV infection and lead to early treatment which is the key to viral suppression and long term survival.
“ This treatment will also lead to reduced death and new infections among children. Also, the plight of the People Living with HIV is a major concern of this administration.” While Advising people to avoid multiple sex partners, non-use of condom, Akeredolu said the collective fight against HIV would reduce the prevalence of the disease.
YOMI AYELESO, Akure
