HIV Prevalence in A'Ibom Drops by 8%, Study Shows

The overall prevalence rate of HIV in Akwa Ibom State has dropped to 2.8 percent, according to the state AIDS Indicator Survey (AKAIS) released recently.

This is against the previously circulated figure of 10.8 percent from a sentinel study.

The study, which was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was a collaborative effort between the state government and USAID flagship HIV/AIDS and TB project-Strengthening Integrated Delivery of HIV/AIDS Services (SIDHAS), which is implemented by FHI 360.

In a report of the study, a population based cross-sectional survey was carried out across the 31 local government areas of the state, in a field work of the study, which took place between April and June 2017.

Speaking during the unveiling of the findings of AKAIS during a dissemination meeting of HIV/AIDS stakeholders, in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, acknowledged the funding from USAID through the SIDHAS project in the implementation of AKAIS and reiterated that the survey presents an opportunity for the state to more accurately estimate the current HIV/AIDS prevalence and incidence and better guide the HIV/AIDS response.

‎He urged all stakeholders to use the findings of the survey for planning future programs for HIV control in state.

The study revealed that "a total of 4,313 households were sampled while 7,791 children and 9,145 adults totaling 16,936 people were tested for HIV.

"The HIV prevalence among children 0 to 14 years was 0.4 percent while the prevalence among persons 15 years and older was 4.8 percent.

"0.41 percent annual incidence of HIV among adults ages 15 years and older. The number of new infections was said to be closely similar in females as in males (0.41 percent among females and 0.42 percent among males)."

However, the HIV incidence in ages 15 to 19 years was higher than the rest of the age groups, translating to nearly half of the new HIV infections occurring in the adult population.. 

In his remarks, FHI 360 Country Director, Dr. Robert Chiegil, said the FHI 360 said the survey has brought a lot of benefits to the state including the economic benefits to the over 1,500 persons involved in the survey. He added that the current availability of key survey resource persons was due to the capacity building that was a part of the process.

In her remarks, the representative of the USAID Mission Director, Deputy Office Director, Office of HIV/AIDS and TB, Kelly Badiane, said the U S Government support for the HIV/AIDS response in the state was in line with the new US President’s Emergency Response Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) paradigm of “doing the right things in the right places at the right time.”