2015 World’s AIDS day – Are you still running from checking?

It’s 2015, December 1, World’s AIDS day, and fortunately, the virus, HIV/AIDS, has been understood more than ever; it’s no more that freaky disease that confused every form of treatment a là management hauled at it.

Now, information about it, its detection and its management has been well elucidated and everybody now deserves to know what it’s worth about the virus that once threatened our age with pathological terror.

Unfortunately, and funny enough, despite this advancement in demystifying HIV/AIDS, a lot of people still don’t even wanna get tested to know their status, talk more embrace management cum suppression. The statistics are not encouraging at all.

An F-2-F survey I did recently in the Lagos metropolis confirmed that an average 6 put of every possible 10 people still don’t know their HIV status, mostly simply because they don’t wish to check. “Me I can’t have HIV in Jesus’ name, lai lai, I reject it”, some of them gabbled arrogantly and ignorantly.

According to Nigeria health experts, an estimated 2.9 million people living with HIV/AIDS out of 3.4 million Nigerians diagnosed last year are not receiving treatment needed to suppress the infection. Those affected, most of who are currently living in hiding, are not only at risk of death from HIV related illnesses, but are also infecting new people, causing a surge of the disease.

In her submission, representative of the Population Council Abuja, Dr. Sylvia Adebajo noted that only 500,000 people are currently on treatment, while the 2.9 million largely men, serve as reservoir for the spread of HIV.

“Men do not go to hospital as much as women so they are the most difficult to reach. Those at higher risks include; women, homosexuals, men who engage with drugs and those who have sex with female sex workers.”

Adebajo said  the attitude of testing people and letting them go without follow up needs to be stopped, and more people, particularly men needs to be reached with treatment.

Biko, as regards testing and management, this age now has the upper hand over the virus, and there’s no more “big deal” in knowing your status, and getting it managed in needed cases…stop running away from checking!

Hear another Nigerian expert speak the truth; “Consultant Haematologist at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Prof. Sulaimon Akanmu, noted that people who test positive to HIV can possibly eliminate the virus if they commence treatment immediately they are diagnosed. “This will help bring their viral load to an undetectable level, where they will likely not infect other people, and is in line with the World Health Organization, WHO’s new treatment guideline for HIV/AIDS.”

Stop running, not frightening, Get tested!