A Public Health Specialist, Dr. Oliver Ezechi, has encouraged Nigerian youths to know their HIV status through self-testing to help in eliminating the infection.
Ezechi, a member of the Nigerian National HIV Treatment Task Team at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, spoke on Friday in Lagos at a programme tagged: 4 Youth by Youth Designathon 2019.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the programme was organised by NIMR, in conjunction with the Saint Louis University, Missouri; University of North Caroline and New York University; and it is the first Designathon for health in Nigeria.
It is similar to a Hackathon, a 48-hour event in which young people from all over Nigeria will ideate, design and present their self-devised solutions to social and health issues.
This Designathon is dedicated to developing new services or products that can promote self-testing for HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
Ezechi said that knowing your HIV status, especially youths was the best way to help in eliminating HIV completely in the country.
“We are all aware of the recent HIV reports which says HIV has dropped in the country.
“There is a particular groups, which is the young persons, because new infections are still occurring among young persons, women and young girls.
“If we really want to get to the 9090 targets of eliminating HIV/AIDS, the first 90, meaning 90 per cent of people who have HIV, should know their status.
“The entry point for the treatment is HIV counsel and testing; we noticed that young people are not coming forward to our hospitals and clinics to get tested because of stigma.
“What we are doing today is to bring up a competition in which young persons assemble together, design and get best strategy for them on HIV self testing,” Ezechi said.
He also said that NIMR was charged for research on national health, and part of the mandate was to bring in international and national bodies on the best move to implement HIV self testing.
In her remarks, Dr Juliet Iwelunmor, a global health implementation scientist, said their goals were to encourage and let everyone to know their HIV status.
Iwelunmor, an Associate Professor in Global Health at Saint Louis University in Missouri, said that the way by which they could easily know their status was through HIV self testing.
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