An estimated 1.9 million Nigerians are living with the Human Immune Virus (HIV) and Nigeria is one of the three countries in the world with the highest burden of the virus.
A public health voluntary service initiative, APIN, made the disclosure at the weekend.
persons.
Speaking during the Undetectable=Untransmittable (U=U)/ International women’s day media roundtable, the Senior Technical Advisor, Prevention & Community Services APIN , Dr Olubunmi Amoo, stated that the group has a variety of women-focused interventions.
Dr Amoo stated that the interventions ranges from Cervical Cancer screening, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV, Elimination of Gender-Based Violence, HIV testing and treatment, Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programming, and Economic Empowerment activities.
Speaking further she said that the successes and results from these programs are helping to give women voices in their households and the society at large, while ensuring their health and wellbeing.
Delivery the welcome address, the Associate Director, Human Resources & Administration APIN,
Mr Luke Onu and Deputy CEO (Programs), Dr Jay Osi Samuels, remarked on the need to specifically target women in public health interventions, as well as other areas including governance, economic empowerment and leadership, a practice which APIN is committed to.
The duo also appreciated the media for their support so far and encouraged them to continue to amplify messages on women’s inclusion on their platforms.
Also speaking in the occasion, the Communications and Media Specialist APIN, Mrs Emerald Awa-Agwu, stated that APIN introduced the Undetectable=Untransmittable (U=U) campaign, aimed at increasing HIV testing, adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) and uptake of viral load services to achieve an Undetectable viral load.
Awa-Agwu informed that people Living with HIV who take their ARTs consistently can achieve an undetectable viral load. This means that the amount of HIV in their blood is too small to be detected by standard HIV tests. At this point, they are also unable to transmit HIV, Hence the name Undetectable =Untransmittable (U=U).
Speaking further she said ” APIN Public Health Initiatives, addresses diseases of public health importance and mitigates their impact using cutting-edge approaches in public health program management, capacity building, research and health information management in partnership with other stakeholders.
“The organization started out as a project of the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in 2000 but became an independent NGO in 2007.
