THE World AIDS Day rolled by yesterday. The World Health Organisation, WHO, has set aside December 1 yearly, to train global attention on the dreaded disease called Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS and Human Immuno Deficiency Virus, HIV.

Successes in containing HIV/AIDS vary from one community to the other. Some countries have made some progress, yet all these have to be evaluated with guided optimism. Fears abound that a celebration of these successes could result in people not taking anti-AIDS campaigns serious.

The poorest countries, the most misgoverned continent, bayoneted by other diseases, remains the most challenged about HIV/AIDS. Of course, we are talking about Africa , where corruption and poor governance affect everything.

HIV/AIDS is a big problem because of ignorance, unsafe sex practices and traditions. In some places, traditions prohibit open discussion of sex. People can acquire knowledge about protecting themselves.

Poverty is another major challenge in combating HIV/AIDS.  Drugs are very expensive and where government interventions are made, they are still inadequate. Bureaucracy and corruption also make the drug unavailable to those who need them.

The Federal Government, for instance, provides free screening services, and in many instances free treatment at its medical facilities, but these are in the urban areas and even not enough for the residents of those cities.

The rural poor cannot afford the treatment, lack access to medication and cannot afford costs of travelling to the city for treatment. Many of them resort to traditional treatment where they may learn about the care they have to take to avoid opportunistic infections, which would be enough to kill. Related to these are special diets that their status demands.

Some HIV/AIDS patients could die from malaria, or tuberculosis. Our environment is fertile with other infections that can harm them. However, there is a bigger killer — stigmatisation. Many sufferers would not want to be identified with the disease. They would not confide in anyone, nor be seen around medical facilities associated with HIV/AIDS.

We have a joint responsibility to give them a space. Theirs is a disease that could infect anyone. Part of the reasons for the stigmatisation is that infection with HIV/AIDS is still seen as a moral judgment on the carrier.

The truth is that HIV/AIDS could be contracted from other means like blood transfusion, sharing unsterilised sharp objects.

Statistics on the spread of HIV/AIDS remain scary. Over 75 million people might be infected by this year while 100 million lives may be lost to AIDS by 2020. Hopes remain high that a cure could be found or a better way of people protecting themselves from infection.

Africa has high prevalence of this disease which suggests that countries within the continent must work extra hard to minimise its spread. A poor continent is losing its people to HIV/AIDS. For some countries, it is slightly worse as a high number of younger people is also infected, meaning that segments of the population could be wiped out, if immediate measures are not taken.

Too much emphasis is being laid on money instead of effective campaigns to counter the spread of HIV/AIDS. The number of NGOs on HIV/AIDS appears more to be an indication of the opportunities it provides for NGOs than a measure of the seriousness attached to tackling the threat.

Critics of the multi-billion dollar global budget for combating HIV/AIDS note that other diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea, and pneumonia may pose more threats than HIV/AIDS, especially to children, but they do not get the type of attention HIV/AIDS gets.

Donor countries and individuals are showing concern for Africans through provision of free treatment and preventive measures. Nigeria has received millions of dollars from these donors, Bill Gates, the billionaire Microsoft owner, who donated to a fund to combat HIV/AIDS during his 2006 visit to Nigeria. How were these resources been used?

The National Action Committee on AIDS, NACA, says it requires N6 billion to combat HIV/AIDS. The money will be used to double the number of those receiving treatment to 900,000 and reverse the trend in infection by 2015, through the creation of more access to treatment.

NACA need to work harder through education and provision of more treatment centres. States and local government councils should establish similar centres to bring the treatment nearer rural people.

With HIV/AIDS, the battle is still ahead and cannot be won if it is fought only on every December 1.