LIVE UPDATES
Hacey Health Initiative, a non-governmental organisation that helps women, girls, and young people in Nigeria live productive and healthy lives, provided free HIV screenings to over 10,000 marathoners at the recently completed Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.
The NGO urged people to get tested for HIV to learn their status, emphasizing the significance of keeping a healthy lifestyle.
According to the 2019 Nigeria National HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey, at least 1.9 million Nigerians are infected with the virus.
Speaking at the event, Hacey Programme Manager, Mr Bamidele Oyewunmi, stated that the marathon gave an opportunity for the NGO to test people for HIV, particularly young people.
Oyewunmi said, “Access Bank Lagos City Marathon is one of the largest events in Nigeria that brings young people together.
” So having young people in this large event is an opportunity for us to align with the UNAIDS goal that 90 per cent of people living with HIV know their status; 90 per cent of people who know their status are referred and linked to care and 90 per cent of people who are linked to care have their viral load reduced.
” It is an opportunity for us to get these people tested, get them to know their virus, and also reduce their viral load.
“For over a week, we have been implementing this programme in support of Access Bank to ensure that we test people living with HIV and identify them.”
The programme manager pointed out that the event was not only about identifying people living with HIV but also disseminating quality information to people who are negative on how to stay HIV-negative.
He affirmed that it was cheaper to prevent HIV than cure it.
