ABUJA – The AIDS Health Care Foundation, an NGO, has urged stakeholders to put in place policies to enable more People Living With HIV and AIDs (PLWHA) have access to anti-retroviral drugs.
Mrs Oluwakemi Gbadamosi, the Advocacy Manager of the foundation, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja in an interview with newsmen.
Gbadamosi said that out of the 35 million people living with the epidemic globally, only about 13 million had access to anti-retro viral therapy.
According to her, there is the need to increase the number to reduce AIDS-related deaths.
She said that the viral load of an AIDS patient would be reduced drastically when placed on anti-retroviral therapy consistently and correctly.
Gbadamosi added that the chances of such patient transmitting the virus would also be slim.
“We cannot achieve an AIDS-free generation without addressing issues of treatment, testing, stigma and discrimination.
“In our foundation, we believe that treatment is very important and we have gotten to the stage globally where no one deserves to die of the virus anymore.
“We have drugs that are available globally for AIDS patients to live a healthy and productive life even while living with the virus,” she said.
