Posted on: Sat 07-12-2013

A MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY DELIVERED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, DR OSAHON ENABULELE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2013 WORLD AIDS DAY.
As Nigeria joins the entire global community to mark this year`s World AIDS day, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr Osahon Enabulele and the entire members of the Association felicitate with People living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA)who are surviving the dreaded scourge of the 21st century- HIV/AIDS. The same message of solidarity and support go to all the categories of healthcare workers who are involved in awareness, advocacy, diagnosis, treatment, care and support of the patients and funding of programmes. We empathise with the families of the unfortunate ones who succumbed to the cold hands of death due to the complications of the dreaded viral infection. We wish all the orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) who owe their present statuses to the disease, very well.
Nigerian Medical Association appreciates quite immensely the large heartedness of funding agencies, and resourcefulness of implementing/development partners whose efforts have converted the perception of this scourge from that of a death sentence to one with hope.
With the same note of appreciation, we congratulate various legislative houses across the country for their efforts in lending legislative support and thereby providing a legal teeth for the cause of HIV/AIDS war leading to the passage of the [Bill for an Act to make Provision for the Prevention of HIV and AIDS-based Stigmatisation and Discrimination, and to Protect the Human Rights and Dignity of People Living with, and Affected by, HIV/AIDS and other Related Matters.] sponsored in the Senate by Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and in the House of Representatives by Hon. Joseph Haruna Kigbu.
The political will at the highest levels by the federal government and continued efforts of the Federal Ministry of Health through her various departments and agencies including NACA have not gone unnoticed.
The association emphatically identifies with the theme and slogan of this year`s celebration- Getting to zero: Zero new HIV infections. Zero discriminations. Zero AIDS-related deaths. NMA also identifies with the World Health Organisation`s focus this year of improving access to prevention, treatment and care services for adolescents (10-19 years) as this age group has continued to remain vulnerable due to their adventurous life style.
Noting the apparently stable but highly significant prevalence of the infection among Nigerians, the Nigerian Medical Association decries the continued persistence of the socio-demographic factors in the epidemiology of the disease that tend to predispose certain ethno-geographical entities in the nation to an unenviable all-time high levels in the distribution of the disease among Nigerians. The continued high prevalence of maternal to child transmission remains a great challenge to all stakeholders in this business and particularly of great concern to the NMA.
The NMA therefore calls for concerted efforts to further bring down the national prevalence from the present 3.4% to less than 2% in the next five years.
As Nigeria looks forward to marking her centenary anniversary next year 2014, NMA urges governments at all levels, to make reduction of HIV/AIDS prevalence and eradication a cardinal objective and as a priority project as budget appropriation activities are gearing up for the next fiscal year at various legislative houses in the country.
The Nigerian Medical Association also adjures all her members, the organized private sector, other stakeholders and the people of Nigeria to scale up their support for reduction of HIV/AIDS prevalence and Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. The Nigerian Medical Association hopes that implementing the World Health Organization`s (WHO) new guidelines for HIV testing and counseling and care for adolescents would be a very valuable tool for achieving this objective. 
Finally, the Nigerian Medical Association advocates that efforts should be intensified towards improved access to anti-retroviral therapy to all those who need it.
We wish all Nigerians and the global community a hitch-free celebration of the 2013 World AIDS Day.
God bless Nigeria.
Dr Osahon Enabulele
President, Nigerian Medical Association.

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