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The Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, Dr. Temitope Ilori, has insisted that miracle centres claiming cure for HIV is false.
Stressing that there is presently no scientifically documented cure for HIV globally, she noted that those claiming cure from miracle centres didn't go back to do the right tests.
She therefore warned Nigerians living with HIV against abandoning antiretroviral treatment after visiting prayer and miracle centres, as such actions are “dragging us back” and have led to illnesses and deaths.
Dr. Ilori spoke on Thursday at a 2-day Training of Media Personnel on PrEP in Lagos State.
She said “I'm a Christian, I believe in prayers, I believe in miracles. A lot of this is happening, and it's dragging us back,” she said.
“People are tested HIV positive. They put them on medications. They start, and then they go to all these prayer houses. They say they prayed for them, they are negative, and they should stop using their drugs. They stopped using their drugs, and... some of them will come down with full... and some of them will die along the line.”
Dr. Ilori explained that drugs are now available in Nigeria and can place everyone who tests positive on antiretroviral drugs immediately, unlike in the past when treatment was delayed until CD4 counts dropped.
She said the drugs have also become easier to take, moving from “10 pills, seven pills, eight pills” to just one tablet daily.
With regular use and periodic checkups to monitor viral load, liver and kidney function, many patients achieve an undetectable viral load within six months.
“That's where the slogan U equals U comes from. Undetectable equals untransmittable,” she said.
“Because when the virus is undetectable, there's nothing you want to transmit. So even if we don't preach it, even if you accidentally have unprotected sex, you will not transmit the virus.”
She cited discordant couples, where one partner is HIV positive and the other negative, and who successfully had biological children without transmission because the positive partner stayed on treatment.
Dr. Ilori cautioned that while prayer is important, stopping medication after a “miracle” claim is dangerous.
“For a while you'll be okay because your immune system have been boosted by the drugs. But after you stop for a couple of months, people will start coming down with illnesses,” she said.
She advised anyone who believes they have been healed to go back and do specific tests, not just HIV testing, because drugs suppress the virus to levels that make standard tests negative.
“To the best of my knowledge, it has not been documented scientifically that somebody was cured from HIV. So for now, miracles concerning HIV are false.” she stated.
At the training, Dr. Ilori urged journalists to help counter misinformation and encourage people living with HIV to stay on medication, get regular checkups, and not rely on claims of instant healing.