The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has said that the number of persons on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) will increase from 400,000 to 600,000 in 2012.
Prof. John Idoko, Director General, made this known in Abuja on Wednesday during an end of year dinner with the media.
He said the agency would ensure that Prevention of Mother –To-Child (PMTCT) coverage would increase to 50 per cent from 15 per cent.
Idoko stressed that the just concluded 16th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA 2011) showed that Nigeria did not achieve much in that area.
“Next year presents bigger challenges for the national response programme, we plan to provide HIV counseling and Testing (HCT) for 10 million? to 20 million Nigerians”.
“It is our plan to increase Prevention of Mother-To-Child (PMTCT) service coverage to 50 per cent, number of people on ART is expected to increase from 400,000 to 600,000.”
The director general added that HIV services in 2012 would include decentralisation to communities and would be integrated into maternal and child health, tuberculosis, malaria and strengthning of other health systems.
He tasked the media to preach the message of prevention to keep the youth from new HIV infections, noting that “this is a period of high prevalence of risky behaviour, which could lead to new infections”.
Idoko said the agency would focus more in the rural areas to encourage pregnant women to attend ante-natal, so as to ensure they delivered HIV free babies.
Speaking on behalf of the media, Mrs Rafat Salami, Voice of Nigeria (VON), tasked the NACA chief to ensure that the media would be adequately informed of current issues on HIV and AIDS to avoid speculation.
“When we are well informed on issues, we can in turn educate the public properly.”
Salami also urged the media to cultivate the habit of reading to be abreast with information as the public tended to believe things they read or heared in the media