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Claim: An X user made some claims about Nigeria’s HIV status and awareness level, including infant rate and transmission data.
Verdict: MISLEADING. One of the claims was false, while another is inconclusive because there is no current data on it and the old data is not comprehensive.
Full Text
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) remain a significant public health challenge in Africa, particularly in sub-Saharan regions, where approximately 25.7 million people live with HIV. Southern Africa is the most affected area, with Eswatini having the highest prevalence at nearly 26% of its population. Nigeria faces a critical situation, with an estimated HIV prevalence of 2.1% among adults, translating to about 2 million people living with HIV in 2023.
Efforts to combat HIV/AIDS have seen advancements driven by governmental initiatives and international support. By 2020, several African countries achieved the 90-90-90 target, where 90% of people living with HIV knew their status, were on treatment, and had viral suppression. Various prevention strategies, including voluntary male circumcision and mother-to-child transmission prevention programs, have been implemented.
In Nigeria, public awareness campaigns have increased testing and reduced stigma, with about 89% of people living with HIV aware of their status. Despite improvements, challenges remain, particularly in accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART), with only 77% of diagnosed individuals receiving treatment.
An X user, Kwena Molekwa, made some claims about Nigeria’s HIV status in response to a tweet accusing South Africa of having a high number of infected people. With over 9000 views, the claim has generated 78 reactions, seven comments, and four reposts as of Sept. 11, 2024.
A Facebook user, Put South Africans First, also made the same post on Aug. 16, 2024, which generated 18 reactions, 14 comments, and 8 reshares as of Sept. 11, 2024.
DUBAWA investigated two of these claims to ascertain the truth.
Claim 1: Only 90,000 Nigerians are aware of their HIV status out of over 200 million citizens
Verdict: FALSE. Data from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) revealed that 1.9 million Nigerians were living with HIV as of 2021. Also, over 1.7 million were aware of their status, which is equal to about 89 per cent of the HIV-positive population.
Claim 2: Nigeria has the highest number of infants born with HIV/AIDs
Verdict: INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE. Nigeria recorded approximately 21,000 new child HIV infections in 2020, accounting for 14% of the global data from the UNAIDS. However, the data did not capture recent efforts to curb the spread of the disease in the country, a factor expected to impact the total statistics. There is also no recent data on the claim.
Conclusion
Though Nigeria has a high prevalence level of HIV/AIDS infection globally, the claim about Nigeria having a low awareness level and a high infant infection rate is misleading.
