Jos: Dr Francis Magaji, Executive Director, Plateau State Agency for the Control of AIDS (PLACA) has attributed the recent increase in HIV prevalence in the state to it constant crises.
Magaji, in Jos on Monday, said that the state had maintained the lowest national HIV prevalence of 2.6 per cent until the 2010 sentinel survey which showed a remarkable increase.
"Even in safe environment we are battling with the fact that not all people have been able to access HIV cancelling and testing, now when people are now displaced into camps, first thing is self preservation; how they can be safe first and such people are vulnerable they could be abused in such displaced camps.
"And those who are already positive might not be able to access their drugs within that period of time and once people miss their drugs it is not issue of just resistance to the medication, of course their viral load can go high and once viral load goes high the chances of transmission is also quite high.''
Magaji said that in 2001, the state's HIV prevalence rate was 8.5 per cent, but that the rate was falling steadily until a recent surge.
He added that in 2005 the prevalence rate decreased to 6.3 per cent, while in 2008 it fell to 2.6 per cent, the lowest level attained.
Magaji lamented, however, that in 2010, the prevalence rate rose to 7.7 per cent.
He also blamed lack of funds to continue to fight HIV prevalence for the increase as the source of steady fund began to dwindle with the first phase of the World Bank funding project drawing to an end in 2009.
He said if there had been sufficient funds, PLACA would have matched its intervention with rising prevalence, as the conflicts continued.
"Unfortunately, we were not lucky to have that, so the rate of new infection out-spaced our rate of response and led to the 7.7 per cent prevalence rate the state recorded in 2010,'' Magaji said.
He said the second phase of the World Bank HIV fund intervention would soon begin and that the state would capitalise on it to have a robust intervention and engage all stakeholders.
The director noted that with the recent prevalence rate, the state became the 5th most burdened state in the country.
He expressed regret at the fallout of the conflicts, which, he said, included increased HIV prevalence.
Magaji stressed that it was well-known fact that conflict zones usually witnessed increased HIV prevalence.
He noted that government's resources were also shifted from funding HIV activities to the search for peace in the state.
Magaji also expressed regret that the conflicts in Plateau drove many of the development partners away and appealed to those who had fled the state, to return. (NAN)
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