No fewer than 2,246 newly diagnosed HIV-positive persons have received free Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) in Bauchi State, the Commissioner for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Sani Mohammed, has said. He made the disclosure on Monday in Bauchi during the 2025 World AIDS Day commemoration, themed “Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response.” Dr. Mohammed said the beneficiaries received comprehensive ART treatment between January and the present, adding that 650 HIV-exposed infants achieved 100 per cent early infant diagnosis, protecting them from HIV infection. Represented by Dauda Yakubu, Permanent Secretary in the ministry, he explained that the theme highlights challenges posed by…
Author: Newsdesk
The Association of Psychiatrists of Nigeria (APN) has urged the Federal Government to expand relational and community support systems to help cushion the psychological impact of Nigeria’s economic downturn. The call was contained in a communiqué jointly signed by APN President, Prof. Taiwo Obindo, and Secretary-General, Dr. Olajide Abayomi, on Monday in Lagos. The communiqué was issued at the end of the APN 56th Annual General and Scientific Meeting (AGSM) held in Benin, Edo State. The association said the government must strengthen structural and systemic support systems—such as social safety nets, community-based services, and workplace support—to reduce the intensity of…
The Sokoto State Government has announced that it has achieved the 95-95-95 HIV/AIDS control target—covering diagnosis, treatment, and viral suppression—marking a major milestone in the state’s fight against the epidemic. Kabiru Umar, Executive Secretary of the Sokoto State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Leprosy (SOSACAT), disclosed this on Monday during the 2025 World AIDS Day commemoration in Sokoto. The event, organized by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with SOSACAT, featured an enlightenment campaign, road walk, and distribution of food items to people living with HIV to promote awareness and encourage participation in prevention efforts. World AIDS…
Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert, Dr. Ikpongke Joshua, says achieving a robust, general-purpose AI alignment within the next five years will be a highly complex task. Joshua stated this on Monday during an interview with reporters in Abuja. AI alignment, he explained, refers to the process of ensuring that AI systems operate in ways that benefit humans and remain consistent with human goals, ethics, and preferences. He noted that this has become a major area of concern for technology experts as AI systems grow more autonomous, with the potential for unpredictable or harmful outcomes if not properly guided. Joshua, who specializes…
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving the global target of ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, as Nigeria joins the international community to mark the 2025 World AIDS Day. Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, gave the assurance on Monday at the State House during the national commemoration themed “Overcoming Disruptions; Sustaining Nigeria’s HIV Response.”The event was organized in collaboration with the First Lady’s Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI). Salako said the government had introduced several programmes and invested more than N300 billion to strengthen the national HIV response and…
The Federal Government on Monday inaugurated an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) for the newly established Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI), aimed at strengthening electricity supply in health facilities nationwide. Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, said the initiative represents a major step toward ending decades of unreliable power in hospitals. He said the initiative reflects President Bola Tinubu’s directive to harmonize national efforts and deliver sustainable, round-the-clock electricity to health facilities. Salako described energy insufficiency in hospitals as an emergency and a major disruption to healthcare delivery. He…
The United Nations Population Fund has warned that 3.3 million additional people could acquire HIV by 2030 unless urgent action is taken to reverse ongoing disruptions affecting global prevention programmes. It stressed that recent funding cuts are undermining efforts across vulnerable regions and communities worldwide, placing millions at greater risk and threatening progress made in reducing new infections. UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita issued the warning in a statement on Monday, marking the 2025 World AIDS Day, commemorated every Dec.1, urging renewed focus on stabilising threatened prevention programmes and sustaining global commitment. The 2025 theme, “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS…
Mongolia’s National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Monday that a total of 424 HIV carriers and AIDS patients are now living in the country. The NCCD said in a statement issued in observance of World AIDS Day, marked annually on Dec. 1. that a total of 36 new HIV cases were recorded in the first 11 months of 2025. It added that the majority of the HIV-infected are aged between 20 and 44. About 99.7 per cent of the infections resulted from sexual transmission. The first case of HIV infection in Mongolia was registered in 1992. Since then, 71…
Prof. Stephen Adefegha has received the Gold Medalist Life Sciences, 2025 for his research on brain-protective foods from the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS). Prof. Jonathan Babalola, Chairman, NAS Science Prize Committee, announced this on Monday in a statement he issued in Abuja. Adefegha is a professor of Biochemistry at the Federal University of Technology, Akure. The NAS Gold Medal was instituted by the academy in 2016 and targeted at awarding deserving Nigerian scientists who had carried out specific research of national relevance and global resonance in science. The award, an annual event, alternates between Life and Physical Sciences and consists of a medal, a certificate and a cash reward. Adefegha’s…
South Africa, Eswatini and Zambia were to begin on Monday administering a groundbreaking new HIV-prevention injection in the drug’s first public rollouts in Africa, which has the world’s highest HIV burden. Lenacapavir, taken twice a year, has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99.9 percent, making it functionally akin to a powerful vaccine. In South Africa, where one in five adults lives with HIV, a Wits University research unit oversaw the rollout as part of an initiative funded by Unitaid, the United Nations health agency. “The first individuals have begun using lenacapavir for HIV…