HIV test kits availability, youth-friendly centres vital to ending AIDS — CiSHAN

ORGANISATIONS under the aegis of Civil Society on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (CiSHAN) have said addressing the lack of youth-friendly HIV treatment facilities and the scarcity of HIV test kits is essential to eradicating HIV as a public health concern by 2030.

They added that stigma is preventing individuals from showing up for HIV testing and treatment services, particularly young people, because they want confidentiality.

Oyo State CiSHAN Coordinator, Seun Onifade, at a press conference to mark World AIDS Day 2024, said social and economic determinants of health, including poverty, stigma, and discrimination, exacerbate the HIV epidemic.

Onifade, flanked by CiSHAN’s assistant secretary, Joseph Ujokere, and other CiSHAN members, including Mrs. Abimbola Elizabeth and Mrs Olufunmilayo Owolabi, said promoting human rights and gender equality is essential to ending the AIDS epidemic.

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He urged the availability of HIV testing kits for CSOs, the release of funds for HIV activities, the scaling up of HIV testing and treatment services, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas, and the enforcement of the antistigma law.

He said: “We are equally mindful of the gap that remains in our response. We call on the Oyo State government to step up action to address social and economic detriment to health, including poverty, stigma, and discrimination.

“In about two private universities in Oyo State, students were denied access to accommodation because of their HIV status. We are not happy that the Oyo State government has been very, very quiet and silent in its response or intervention to this in the state.

“Not only that, this case has made many people run away for treatment because people want confidentiality, especially young people, who felt that the stigma will continue to ruin their family.

“This has been a great challenge because most of the positive cases that we have today, most of them because of stigma, are not showing up for treatment services, to take up treatment services. Stigma is really fighting back.

“In the last three years, there has been no program for adolescent young people. Adolescent young people are not ready to go to our facility for HIV testing. They want to go to NGOs for services. The NGOs do not have the test kits to carry out interventions.

“We called on the Oyo state government to find a way to support and release funds for HIV activities in the state. In the last four years, the funding has been poor. There has been no release of funding for HIV activities in the states.

“The cost of HIV test kits has been a serious challenge to civil society organizations. Test kits are not available like before. It has been a major challenge.”