Kano State Government said as Nigeria records over two million people living with HIV, Kano State has 46,732 persons currently receiving treatment.
The Commissioner of Health, Dr Labaran Yusuf made this known while briefing journalists on the commemorations of the World AIDS Day with the theme: “Let communities lead” in collaboration with the Kano State Agency for the Control of Aids
He said, “With the 38 million people worldwide and 2 million in Nigeria who are living with HIV, we have tested a total of 138,430 people for HIV and found 4,728 positives and have successfully initiated new 4,140 HIV-infected persons on ART from January 2023 to date. Currently, the state has 46,732 people living with HIV receiving treatment.
“We have improved our strategies to halt mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS by successfully conducting HIV testing for 95% of all pregnant women during their first ANC visit, out of which only 0.04% returned HIV positive.
“In collaboration with our sister agency, the Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KSCHMA), we have successfully enrolled over 600 People Living with HIV (PLHIV) under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) with support from the USAID LHSS project. This initiative ensures that PLHIV has access to healthcare services without suffering out-of-pocket expenses, thus strengthening our fight against the disease.”
He added that efforts were in top gear to formalize the process of enactment of Comprehensive Marital Law, which is not only to screen for HIV but also includes Sickle Cell Genotype and Hepatitis B and other ancillary investigations.
“KSACA has conducted a pre-marital screening of 3,968 intending couples across the 44 LGAs for the popular “AURAN GATA” sponsored by the Kano State Government in collaboration with our partners, we inaugurated the Gender Human Rights Committee to support our efforts towards eradicating stigma and discrimination for people living with HIV.
“We procured Rapid Test Kits (RTKs) worth N69 million to address the prolonged challenges of out-of-stock RTKs in our 590 PMTCT facilities and provided universal access to testing in line with reaching the goal of the first 95 which is to ensure 95% of people living with HIV to know their HIV status by 2025. We have also procured Third Line ARVs worth NGN 5.9 million to save the lives of 30. Kano indigenes and ensures that no one is left behind,” he said.
