Nigeria leads the world in number of children contracting HIV

Health experts say government must do more to stop the trend. By Tobore Ovuorie Nigeria has the highest number of children contracting the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV, in the world, the latest report by the United Nations has shown. The report says nearly 60,000 Nigerian children were infected with the virus in 2012, a figure higher than that of any other country in the world, and is a source of worry for experts with one describing it as “alarming.” The report titled “2013 PROGRESS REPORT ON THE GLOBAL PLAN: towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive” is the most recent on the global plan which seeks an elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015, as well as keep their mothers alive. The programme was launched in July 2011 at the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). Also, despite the efforts of the federal and state governments to check the spread of HIV, the report shows that the prevalence rate of HIV among Nigerian children has remained relatively stagnant with no significant improvement; while that of several other countries was improving with fewer prevalence rates than before. “In several countries, the pace of decline in the numbers of children newly infected has been slow and the numbers have actually risen in Angola. Nigeria has the largest number of children acquiring HIV infection- nearly 60, 000 in 2012, a number that has remained largely unchanged since 2009,” the report stated. Nigeria affects the world The UN said it is worried about the prevalence rate of HIV among Nigerian children.

The global body warned that if Nigeria doesn’t sit up in curbing HIV in children, the global target, part of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, will not be realised by 2015. “Without urgent action in Nigeria, the global target for 2015 is unlikely to be reached,” the report stated. Also, while Nigeria witnessed stagnancy, since 2009, in the prevalence of HIV among children, several other Sub Saharan African countries, witnessed a massive reduction in the prevalence rate of the condition. Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia all witnessed a 50 per cent decline in new HIV infections in children, while two more countries- the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe- are very close to achieving this target; prompting the UN to warn Nigeria to sit up in the fight against HIV in children. Nigeria’s comparatively poor performance in combating HIV transmission to children also reflected among the 21 countries under the Global Plan watch of the UN. continued