At least 300,000 persons are said to be living positively with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) with about 140,000 HIV patients undergoing treatment in Benue State.
The figure was made public by the Acting Country Programme Manager of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), Dr. Greg Abiaziem, on Friday, while chatting with newsmen, in Makurdi, on the occasion of the World AIDS day celebration.
According to him, the prevalence rate of the virus in the state at 15.4 percent.
While describing the development as unacceptable, Abuaziem said it was consequent upon that that his organisation had been working hard in 10 local government areas of the state in collaboration with the state government to tackle the epidemic and bring down the figure.
“Benue state where we are working and with the current national survey carried out in 2014, ranked highest with 15.4 percent which is unacceptably high. We have over 300, 000 people living with HIV and AIDS. Out of this number, 140, 000 HIV patients are currently undergoing treatment in the state.
“That is why we are working hard as stakeholders to bring the figure down. Government must put more funds into HIV project to keep the service going to reduce prevalence. The adolescents girl are the most vulnerable and we need to reach out to them,” he said.
Similarly, no fewer than 81,871 persons were living with HIV in Ondo State.
According to a report presented at the 2017 World AIDS Day in Ondo, out of the figure, 5,048 people are newly infected, while 8,048 are receiving treatment.
However, the Chairman, Ondo State Agency for the Control of AIDS and Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Sunday Abegunde, who presented the report, said the Governor Rotimi Akeredolu administration would not relent in its efforts to ensuring that the disease was eradicated in the state.
In the same vein, the Borno State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Haruna Mshelia, at the commemoration of the 2017 World AIDS Day, said that more than 1,900 people were living with HIV in the state.
He, however, added that the state government had scaled up HIV services in 237 health facilities across the state to achieve the United Nations AIDS global strategy of 90:90:90 by 2030,
