The Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr Temitope Ilori, has stressed that there is currently no cure for HIV, but effective prevention and treatment options are available to protect people from acquiring the virus and help those living with it manage the condition.
Ilori stated this at a training of media personnel on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), where she urged Nigerians to take advantage of available prevention options and encouraged journalists to provide accurate information about HIV.
“As of today, there is no cure for HIV. But what we have is what we refer to as pre-exposure prophylaxis. We also have post-exposure prophylaxis,” She said.
She explained that PrEP involved the use of antiretroviral drugs by HIV-negative people to prevent infection, stressing that the drugs were not a cure, but part of the available HIV prevention strategies.
According to her, Nigeria has different PrEP options, including daily oral medication; injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA), administered every two months; and the latest option, lenacapavir, known as LenPrEP, which is administered once every six months.
“We have those that are pills, oral pills, that can be taken every day to prevent you coming down with HIV,” she said, adding that injectable options were also available for people who preferred them or had difficulty adhering to daily medication.
Ilori said LenPrEP was currently being introduced in Nigeria through a pilot program and was available free of charge to eligible people through participating health facilities.
She explained that the product was not yet commercially available in the country and therefore had no market price.
“It’s not available on the market, because, like we said, it’s still a pilot study. We are working together with partners, donor partners, and international partners to bring in these injections into the country,” she said.
The NACA DG said the uptake of PrEP had been encouraging, particularly among key populations and other people considered to be at higher risk of contracting HIV.
She, however, stressed that PrEP was not meant for every Nigerian but for people who were most vulnerable to HIV infection.
Ilori disclosed that Nigeria recorded about 45,000 new HIV infections last year, while data for the current year was still being collated.
“We have new infections coming up. We have about 45,000 new infections as of last year. We’re still gathering information regarding this year,” she said.
She identified inadequate information among young people as one of the factors contributing to new infections, urging journalists, particularly those working in traditional and social media, to provide information that young people could understand and act upon.
Ilori also called for stronger efforts to combat HIV-related stigma and misinformation, noting that HIV could not be transmitted through ordinary social contact such as hugging, shaking hands or sharing an office.
She said HIV could be transmitted through infected blood and sexual contact, and from an infected mother to her child where appropriate prevention measures were not taken.
The NACA DG urged journalists to use their platforms to educate the public on HIV prevention and correct misconceptions about the disease.
She also stressed the importance of condoms, abstinence and faithfulness to one partner as part of comprehensive HIV prevention.
“For the young people, particularly those that are sexually active, we say please play safe, wear condoms,” Ilori said.
She said condoms also helped prevent unwanted pregnancies and other sexually transmitted infections.
Ilori said people living with HIV could access potent antiretroviral drugs free of charge at government health facilities, stressing that HIV was no longer a death sentence when properly managed.
She also highlighted the importance of U=U, Undetectable equals Untransmittable, explaining that people living with HIV who adhere to treatment and maintain an undetectable viral load cannot sexually transmit the virus.
She urged people living with HIV to remain on their medication, stressing that adherence was essential to maintaining an undetectable viral load and protecting public health.
On Nigeria’s progress towards the 2030 target of HIV epidemic control, Ilori said the country was on target but needed sustained collaboration among government, healthcare providers, communities, development partners and the media.
She said Nigerians needed to know their HIV status, people who test positive should access treatment and remain on it, while those at risk should be provided with appropriate prevention options.
Also speaking, the technical officer for HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections at the World Health Organization (WHO) Nigeria, Dr Oluwafunke Odunlade, explained that PrEP works by using antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV from establishing itself in the body.
Odunlade said Nigeria currently had oral PrEP, CAB-LA, and LenPrEP, stressing that the choice of prevention method should be based on individual needs and proper guidance from healthcare providers.
She said LenPrEP was administered every six months but cautioned that users must adhere to the recommended schedule to maintain protection.
The WHO technical officer also urged journalists to help propagate accurate information about HIV, dispel myths, and reduce stigma.
“Journalists are actually supposed to help propagate the right information, to bring awareness to the people and help to dispel myths concerning any disease,” Odunlade said.
She added that media practitioners were important advocates in shaping public understanding of HIV/AIDS and other diseases associated with stigma.
“The key message I want journalists to take away from here is that you are very important in shaping the agenda when it comes to HIV and AIDS,” she said.