LAGOS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Out of the 304,447 persons identified as having HIV in Nigeria's oil rich Akwa Ibom State, only 24,000 patients are on anti-retroviral therapy (ART), an official said Friday.
Project Manager of the Akwa Ibom Agency for the Control of AIDS (AK-SACA) Nkereuwem Etok disclosed this in Uyo, the state capital while presenting situation reports at the Akwa Ibom 2017 HIV/AIDS Summit.
Etok said the major challenges of HIV/AIDS programs in the state included poor funding from the state government as well as activities of religious groups claiming cure for HIV/AIDS.
He lamented that the HIV prevalence in the state had always been higher than the national figure, explaining that the 2014 national sentinel survey placed the state at 10.8 percent.
The theme of the summit is "HIV/AIDS in Akwa Ibom State: Taking Charge of Our Destiny."
