Current Trends Of Hiv In Nigeria
HIV/AIDS is no longer a death threat to humans due to continuous incredible research and potent medications, however, its prevalence continues to be a global burden particularly in Africa.
The number of people living with HIV in Nigeria has increased from 1.9 million since 2016 to 3.1 million in 2017 with a little reduction in the number of new infections from 220,000 to 210,000, as well as AIDS-related deaths.
However, a small proportion of these people are being treated on the antiretroviral therapy- 34% of adults and 26% of children respectively. This number needs to increase considerably if we wish to work towards an HIV-free future.
In 2014, the “90-90-90” targets were launched to stimulate further action. By 2020, the targets were that: 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status; 90% of all people diagnosed with HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy; and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will achieve viral suppression.
To achieve this goal, there is the need to increase the awareness of the disease more than ever, to improve access to healthcare, testing services and encourage adherence to treatment plans; as this is the only way to get the best treatment outcomes.
Adhering to The ARV treatment can be challenging because it is taken orally, every day, in the form of a combination of tablets, and people sometimes simply get tired, forget or don not want to be associated with the stigma of HIV, or side-effects of the medications.
A feasible solution to the non-adherence could be the use of a medication reminder application for smartphones. In recent years, there has been a thrive in the use of smartphones in Africa, and with increasing access to the internet, it is becoming easier for the population to access all the features that come with a smartphone.
MyTherapy is a medication and health tracker app that can be used by people living with HIV. The app, which is downloadable for free on both iOS and Android, is a useful and practical tool that encourages and helps its users to take their medication responsibly.
The main purpose of the app is to promote adherence by consistently reminding users to take their medication until they have done so, nevertheless, it also comes with a variety of useful features, such as a measurement and symptom tracker, where users can monitor how they are feeling and responding to their treatment. Additionally, the app also has a lab-values feature which can help HIV-positive patients track their viral load and CD4 count which they can later download in the health Report feature and discuss with their doctors.
HIV/AIDS has claimed so many lives in the past decades and now, there have been quite some remarkable breakthroughs -the rate of infections and deaths have fallen drastically, which implies that ARV medications working well; people are preventing HIV through pre- or post-prophylaxis.
Also with the impressive new happenings where pregnant women with the HIV virus are able to give birth to HIV-free babies thanks to the ARV therapy.
Accordingly, the underlying message is that, as long as ARV medications are taken properly and responsibly, with the help continuous incredible research, then Africa and the world at large will continue to see a reduction in the virus’ incidence, prevalence and death rates - indeed there’s hope for an HIV-free future!