HIV Rate in Osun drops to 0.9% from 1.9%, second lowest in South West - Says Olamiju, S.A. Public Health

The HIV prevalence rate in the State of Osun has dropped to 0.9%, making it the second lowest in the South-West region of Nigeria.

Speaking on Monday while featuring on a television programme, AM Cafe tagged: 'World AIDS day and State Health Matters' in Osogbo, the State capital, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr Olasiji Olamiju, said HIV is a major global public health issue that has claimed more than 32 million lives.

According to him, "the Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) 2018 revealed that the prevalence of HIV in the State of Osun currently stands at 0.9% from 1.9%, making the State second to Ekiti in the South-West zone."

"Out of the 32,197 HIV burden of the State that received counselling and testing across the 45 HIV service delivery facilities, only 7057 clients were linked to treatment."

"The State under the leadership of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola is committed to ensuring that the HIV prevalence in Osun is brought to zero by the year 2030 in tandem with the global trend of getting to zero."

He added that, "the drivers of HIV/AIDS epidemic in the State are multiple sex partnership, high unprotected sexual activities among youths, low risk assessment, border with high risk states, transmigration from Cote Dvoire (Ejigbo-Abidjan Corridor), transactional Sex and poverty."

While commending the State Agency for the Control of AIDS (O'SACA) and its partners for their efforts which has led to its success stories, Olamiju emphasised that, linking all the five local governments areas where targeted testing services were carried out to treatment would help achieve viral suppression to halt the epidemic.