Gambo Aliyu, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has disclosed that young women living in Nigeria are three times more likely to be living with HIV than men of the same age group.
This disclosure was made by the NACA DG in a statement issued on Monday, March 8 to commemorate the 2021 International Women’s Day (IWD).
According to the NACA DG, 6 out 10 persons living with HIV in Nigeria are females.
The NACA DG said;
“Young women aged 20-24 in Nigeria are three times more likely to be living with HIV than men of the same age.
“In this group, HIV prevalence was 1.3 per cent compared to 0.4 per cent in men.
“This fact should reinforce why we must continue to push for equality in access to HIV and COVID-19 services, empowerments and employment opportunities for women and adolescent girls as this will bring about achieving gender equality and ensuring no woman is left behind.”