Chioma Umeha
Having the second largest number of new infection
of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(HIV/AIDS) worldwide, young people are at the hub of an expanding HIV crisis,
according to research.
Against this background, Nigerian youths from
different tertiary institutions are prepared to begin implementation of HIV
self-testing solutions they developed in communities, being part of measures to
achieve zero prevalence of HIV/AIDS among young people in the country.
Research shows that the number of young people in
Africa is estimated to double by 2050, yet fewer than one in five Nigerian
youth have never been tested for HIV.
Perhaps, more worsening is that many adolescents
engage in risky sexual behaviours with multiple partners, which puts them at
higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STD), including HIV.
The youths who were engaged in an HIV Self-Testing
Designathon contest tagged; ‘4 Youth By Youth’ developed different effective and
innovative prevention tools and approaches that would be employed in
communities to help reduce the spread of HIV among their group in the country.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Ezechi Oliver, the
Director of Research (NIMR), who is also one of the Principal Investigators,
ITEST project, said that the focus of Innovative Tools to Expand Self-Testing
(ITEST) project is on the youths.
Ezechi said the goal is to ensure that Nigerian
youths know their HIV status and remain healthy, noting that recent report showed
a reduction of HIV prevalence in the country, with young people being the group
with the higher population of HIV new infection.
He explained that the youths were engaged in an
innovative contest to develop workable solutions that would enable young
persons in communities self-test for the virus as well as access immediate
treatment if tested positive.
Ezechi said the selected three teams will go into
communities to implement and practise the HIV self-testing tools they
developed, after which the research institute will scale up the idea and
implement it across the country to be able to achieve total elimination of the
viral disease and new infections.
Explaining the project, Dr. Juliet Iwelunmor, one
of the Principal Investigator, said the youths were engaged in a four-week
training innovative boot camp that had over 900 young people from across
Nigeria.
Iwelunmor said that they entered for the contest
with 13 teams and 45 innovators participate in the HIV Self-Testing Designathon
competition to mark the world AIDS day.
Iwelunmor said the project is in line with
Nigerian’s strategic objectives of achieving increased access to HIV testing
services and other sexually transmitted diseases among young people.
Iwelunmor who is an Associate Professor in Global
Health at Saint Louis University, Missouri, further explained; “4YBY used open
challenge contests and capacity building workshops focused on activating
innovation, entrepreneurial mindsets and skills to harness the innovative
spirit of young people in addressing health challenges that affects them.
“Our ultimate goal especially among the young
people is for them to be the leaders and partners of promoting HIV self-testing
in Nigeria,” he added.
Also speaking on the importance of the project to
the reduction of HIV prevalence in Lagos state, Dr Oladipupo Fisher, the
Representative of the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency, (LASACA), said the
project is essential as the world looking towards the eradication of HIV by the
year 2030.
Fisher added that there is need to engage the
youths who occupy the larger part of the country’s population and the group
with the higher risk and number of new infections in developing solutions that
will totally eliminate the virus to reach the global target.
He said Nigeria must ensure it achieves the first
90 per cent target of the UNAIDS, that allows people to test for their status
and know where they stand, which if tested positive, they will commence
treatment, which will then suppress the viral load of the disease and prevents
transmission to other people.
He also explained that the agency partnered in
this initiative which will enable it to effectively scale up its plan to reach
the youths and ensure they access treatment, which he noted will suppress viral
load of the disease.
