HEALTH
...towards I
ending the
HIV epidemic
in Nigeria
n medicine to successfully resolve
an ailment, we need to have the
correct diagnosis; we need the
patient’s history, understand how the
illness started, its progress, pinpoint its
current state, and determine the best
drugs or procedure to cure the disease.
In most cases, the correct diagnosis
determines the outcome of treatment.
By Halilu Usman
14
CROSSROADS | April/May 2019
The Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and
Impact Survey (NAIIS) was set up to
achieve an accurate diagnosis of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria from
a public health perspective. To do
this in a country of over 190 million
people, spread across long distances
and very difficult terrain, it required
more than just a few individuals to
make the correct diagnosis. NAIIS as
the largest population-based HIV/AIDS
household survey in the world brought
many individuals and entities together,
with the overall goal of providing
Nigeria with accurate information
regarding the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The survey reached approximately
250,000 respondents in nearly 100,000
households and was completed in
record time. This was done in spite of
geographic, infrastructure, logistics and
security challenges that currently exist
in Nigeria.
NAIIS was a national household-based
survey that assessed the prevalence
of HIV and related health indicators.
Data collection was successfully
completed in a very compressed
period of time, July 2018 through
December 2018, to ensure the data
was available to utilize in the planning
process for the provision of HIV
treatment and prevention services
in 2019. Data was collected from
household members’ ages 0-64 years
old and confidential HIV counseling
and testing services were provided to
people who participated in the survey.
All participants that were found to be
HIV positive were linked to a health
facility to enable them access to HIV
services including free ARVs. NAIIS
data includes national, zonal, and state
information on HIV control activities in
Nigeria.
The survey was initiated and led by the
Government of Nigeria through the
Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and