Alarming! 1,086 Nigerian Teenagers Test Positive For HIV/AIDS

An alarming figure of 1, 086 teenage Nigerians have tested positive for HIV/AIDS in Nasarawa State, says the Nasarawa State AIDS Control Agency.

The HIV/AIDs positive teenagers aged 14 to 19 were discovered following a test and counseling session carried out on 75, 435 youths in the state.

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Dr. Ruth Adabe, the executive director of the agency, revealed this over the weekend during a one-day workshop jointly organized by the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

The workshop held in Keffi Local Government Area of the State.

Adabe said, “In 2016, about 240,000 adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19, were living with the diseases, thereby making up seven per cent of the total number of people living with the virus in Nigeria.

“HIV prevalence among this age group varies regionally, with 4.3 per cent of 15-19-year-olds living with HIV in the South-South, compared to 1.3 per cent in the South-East.

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“Health outcomes for adolescents living with HIV in Nigeria are poor. This is the only country in the world where mortality in 10 – 14-year-olds is rising.

“Young women have a higher HIV prevalence and are infected earlier in life than men of the same age group.

“In 2016, more than 46,000 young women were infected with HIV, compared to 33,900 young men.

“Reports from a 2017 National Health Survey showed that only 29 per cent of women and 27.9 per cent of men between the ages of 15 and 24 could correctly identify ways of preventing sexual transmission of HIV, as well as reject major myths around transmission,” she said.

Adabe urged stakeholders in the state to join hands to help curb the prevalence of the deadly virus which she attributed to risky behaviors among the teenagers.

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