APYIN calls for campaign against new HIV infections

B Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Association of Positive Youths Living With HIV/ AIDs in Nigeria (APYIN), Mr. Edward Ogiji, has called for concerted campaigns against HIV/AIDs to forestall its further spread to hinterlands and schools. Ogiji, who stated this at a media roundtable yesterday in Makurdi,lamented that HIV/ AIDs was still prevalent among the youths and young people despite the awareness created for ages. He pointed out that, most youths do not protect themselves when having sex because they are ignorant of the consequences.
According to him, about 82 per cent of adolescents contact HIV/AIDsthrough unprotected sex and most of them are between the ages of 13 and 15. “At this age, they know nothing about the dangers of having unprotected sex, hence the prevalence of the disease among the young and youths,” he said. He sued for the total implementation of the Partnership to Inspire, Transform and Connect the HIV Response (PITCH) project because it would help in reducing the spread of the disease. Also, the Programme Officer, APYIN, Mr Fabian Tor, disclosed that more youths affected with HIV/ AIDs die faster than the adults because of their unwillingness to treat it due to the financial involvement for first-timers. The programme officer said that most of the youths affected by the disease lacked the funds to carry out various tests before the commencement of the treatment which he said is free.
Tor noted that it is the desire of associations that are working for the eradication of the disease to ensure that it is eradicated on or before 2030. Chairperson, Association of Women LivingWith HIV/ AIDs in Nigeria (ASWHAN), Mrs Elizabeth Aluna, appealed to the media to assist in sensitising people on HIV/ AIDs so that they would be conscious and avoid acts that could make them contact the disease.