Impact of Antiretroviral Therapy on AIDS-Related Mortality in Nigeria: A Longitudinal Study (2010-2023)
1. uthman Al-ameen, University of Ibadan, Scientist, Nigeria
Background:
AIDS-related death continues to be a significant public health challenge in Nigeria. The availability of Antiretroviral
Therapy has altered the prevalence of HIV/AIDS from a fatal disease to a
manageable disease all over the world. This research examines the effect of
Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) coverage on AIDS-related death in Nigeria for the
year 2010-2023. The study aimed to assess the correlation between ART coverage
and AIDS-related death in Nigeria.
Methods: This research employs the
secondary data analysis research method. ART coverage and AIDS-related death
statistics from the year 2010 to 2023 were obtained from UNAIDS
Results:
The calculated correlation between ART coverage and AIDS-related death in
Nigeria was statistically significant and negative, with Pearson correlation
coefficient r = - 0.976. This shows that, with improving ART coverage,
AIDS-related death is reduced.
This
study established a perfect negative relationship between ART coverage and
AIDS-related death in Nigeria for the years 2010-2023 with a Pearson
correlation coefficient (r) of (-0.976).
Conclusion:
The results of this study point to the fact that ART is helpful in the
reduction of AIDS-related deaths in Nigeria. HIV treatment using ART must
continue to increase through enhanced health systems to ensure better delivery
of services and through targeted interventions that will further reduce
AIDS-related deaths and improve the overall health of the population.
Mortality Nigeria.
This
study establishes the life-saving influence that ART has had in decreasing
AIDS-related mortality across Nigeria between the years 2010 and 2023. The
negative coefficient (r = -0.976, p < 0.001) confirms that AIDS-related
deaths have decreased while ART coverage has improved. During the study period,
there was a gradual increase in the availability of ART, which was proven to
have significantly reduced causes of death as a result of HIV/AIDS.
This
process works by boosting immunity, decreasing the viral load, and preventing
the onset of other infections, which in turn would increase the life span and
quality of life of people who are infected with HIV. All these benefits make
ART an important tool in patient management and in the control of the epidemic.
However, the author is aware of other interfering factors that could also lead
to a decline in mortality such as an increase in the overall healthcare
services offered, better diagnostic methods, and other improvements within the health system that may affect mortality.
The
policy implications are clear. Consequently, continued efforts to scale up
treatment with ART are crucial. This includes addressing issues such as
inadequate funding, lack of access to healthcare, especially in rural areas,
and stigma-related issues. The following steps
should be the combination of ART delivery with primary healthcare and focusing
on the patients who are at risk of being left behind. Future studies
should focus on understanding the role of socioeconomic factors and other
predictors, which will aid in developing more effective ART interventions,
thereby enhancing the impact of ART programs in Nigeria.
The limitation of this study is
that it provides Nigeria-specific results, and therefore, may not be
generalizable to other countries with different health systems or epidemic
patterns.
The study recommends that the
government and stakeholders provide ART and make it more accessible to the
people, especially in rural areas, and that ART services be incorporated into
primary healthcare.
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The author was solely responsible for all aspects of this work, including conceptualization, data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation
This Research was self Funded
The data analysis for this study was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics, version (27.0)
The author declares that there is no conflict of interest
The author would like to express gratitude to the UNAIDS organization for providing the data set used for the study.
The data used in this study were obtained from UNAIDS, as detailed in the manuscript. For further information on data access, please refer to UNAIDS at [https://aidsinfo.unaids.org/].