A Public health non-governmental organisation, APIN Public Health Initiatives (APIN) has expressed its commitment to support the prevention of mother to child transmission of Human Immune Virus (HIV), cervical cancer screening, and other initiatives enhancing women’s health in the country.

APIN Senior Technical Advisor, Prevention & Community Services, Dr Olubunmi Amoo, who stated this at the Undetectable=Untransmittable(U=U)/ International Women’s Day Media Roundtable in Abuja, noted that about 1.9 million Nigerians are living with HIV and that Nigeria is one of the three countries in the world with the highest burden of the virus.

She observed that the 2018 Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) revealed that 1.3 per cent of all Nigerians aged 15 to 49 years old are infected with HIV and within the sub-group, there are adolescents and young people, as well as unmarried persons.

NAIIS results indicate a gender disparity in HIV prevalence, as more women are infected at 1.9 per cent compared to men at 1.1per cent. The disparity between females and males was greatest among younger adults, with females’ aged 20-24 years having four times the HIV prevalence of males in the same age group.

Amoo observed that APIN has a variety of women-focused interventions ranging from cervical cancer screening to 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.

She further stated that the successes and results from these programmes are helping to give women voices in their households and the society at large, while ensuring their health and wellbeing.

Earlier, APIN Associate Director, Human Resources & Administration, Mr Luke Onu and Deputy CEO (Programmes), Dr Jay Samuels, stressed the need to target women in public health interventions, as well as other areas including governance, economic empowerment and leadership. 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, APIN Communications and Media Specialist, Mrs Emerald Awa-Agwu, stated that the group introduced the Undetectable=Untransmittable (U=U) campaign to increase HIV testing, adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) and uptake of viral load services to achieve an undetectable viral load.

Awa-Agwu revealed 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).

She said: “APIN public health initiatives addresses diseases of public health importance and mitigates their impact using cutting-edge approaches in public health programme management, capacity building, and research, as well as health information management in partnership with other stakeholders.”