Women Education can curb HIV/AIDS Spread- NACA

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS has said that the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS could be reduced if more women were educated on the causes and prevention methods. This was made known by NACA Director General, Prof. John Idoko in Enugu, during a three-day retreat aimed at reviewing the performance of the Global Fund implementation programme. He said, “Women are 60 per cent of people that are infected. If you educate and empower more women, the prevalence rate will be cut down.” According to him, “The agency will commence circulation of the pre-exposure prophylaxis drug known as Tuvala in Nigeria by 2013.” The Director further noted that the drug would only be made available to sero-discordant couples and pregnant women due to the low availability of resources. Idoko also stated that the agency would embark on formative, feasibility study to have systematic, methodical and rational evidence as its policy statement. According to Idoko, “We are going to do a study which is called the formative study where we are going to go round and interview a lot of people, over 200, and ask them, do you think that this thing is right? We would find out their fears about the Tuvala drug in the country; some people say it may make people more promiscuous. “We are hoping that that study is going to take us to like October, November then, we are going to call everyone, doctors, journalists and people living with HIV/AIDS, religious people to have a big discussion round it.” He said, “Beyond that, we are going to do another study which is called a feasibility study. Even if we agree, how do we deploy it in our country? It is only after all this that we can now advise policy makers that this is something good and then it can enter our policy. “So we are looking towards sometime next year before there is a policy statement on it.” Meanwhile, Idoko has urged the state and local government to support the Global Fund implementation programme by providing necessary facilities in hospitals in order to tackle HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. “We need to tell our politicians, they are doing well but where are the people who will use them. They need to support their citizens to be alive and well,” he said. He added, “We need to look at the drivers of the epidemic. Gender issues, poverty, education. “If you look at far northern states where culture prohibits promiscuity, prevalence is low, if you look at the South-West where education is high, prevalence is low