Nicholas Baamlong, Plateau’s Commissioner for Health, has put the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the state at 1.6 per cent.

Mr Baamlong disclosed this on Friday in Jos during a media briefing on the activities and achievements of his office from May 2023 to date.

The commissioner said the state had made significant progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS but regretted that the burden of the disease was still great.

“The state’s HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 1.6 per cent is still slightly above the national prevalence rate of 1.4 per cent,” he said.

The commissioner said the state, as of December 2024, recorded 2,520 new HIV infection cases while 46,126 persons living with HIV were on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).

Mr Baamlong said the state government, in a bid to reduce the prevalence of the disease, provided funding for the expansion of access for in-and out-of-school youths to family life health education.

According to him, funding was also provided for the conduct of community HIV sensitisation and testing services across selected communities to strengthen community systems and to support testing and re-testing of the general and key populations, vulnerable populations and pregnant women.

He noted that the government provided funding for mapping all civil society organisations (CSOs) implementing HIV services.

Mr Baamlong said the renovation of the Plateau AIDS Control Agency (PLACA) office complex was ongoing to give the agency a facelift and to improve the quality of the work environment and donor confidence.

(NAN)