WORLD AIDS Day 2018: KNOW YOUR STATUS
December 1st is WORLD AIDS Day and 2018 marks 30 years of commemorating this special day set aside for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show support for people living with HIV and identify with those who died from AIDS..
The theme for 2018 WORLD AIDS Day is KNOW YOUR STATUS and for Nigeria, this is apt as testing for status has been deemed a critical problem in the fight against HIV in Nigeria according to the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA).
The singular most important HIV intervention today is the ongoing Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey, NAIIS.This is the biggest HIV Survey ever conducted in the world, aims to provide accurate data to enable proper planning, allocation of resources and more feasible projections towards HIV epidemic control.
Over 200,000 people are expected to receive testing for HIV, Hepatitis B and Cfrom over 100, 000 households across the 774 local Government Areas in the 36 states and FCT.. The tests arefree. Individuals who test positives are immediately linked to treatment facilities.
As the world commemorates WORLD AIDS Day, NAIIS is celebrating its success for completing data collections in 28 states including FCT with over 180,000 persons tested across the country. It is gratifying to know the survey has enjoyed 86% acceptance rate with 8 states left to complete. NAIIS is clearly leading the call on KNOW YOUR STATUS.
“Nigerians need to know their status and those found to have HIV get linked up to start immediate treatment (Test and Start).. Very soon NAIIS will reveal the true burden of HIV in Nigeria to help Government of Nigeria plan towards effective control of HIV”. Dr Aliyu Gambo, NAIIS Chief of Party hinted as Nigeria commemorates the WORLD AIDS DAY 2018.
Join us on NTA as we discuss the theme of the survey in line with NAIIS and also participate in our online quiz and polls on our social media platforms (@naiisng) using the #NAIISToKnow, join our platform as we celebrate WORLD AIDS Day 30th Anniversary.