5 Things That Consumes Most Nigerians Money (No 3. Can Wreck You)

5 Things That Consumes Most Nigerians Money (No 3. Can Wreck You)

It’s not your earnings that makes you rich but your spending habits.

When people complain about hardship and lack of money, they forget to look back at how they had spent the last money earned.

There are some little things people spend money on without knowing that accumulation of those little things will amount to large expenses thereby rendering one penniless.

Below are top 5 things that drains almost all Nigerians’ bank account

1. Mobile Phones

No doubt, mobile phones are important to our daily life but the struggle to use latest mobile phone gadget pose a major threat to financial life of many Nigerians.

Research had it that an average Nigerian change phone at least twice in a year. Some people go as far as using their life savings to buy latest phone just to level up.

Somebody using iPhone 8 wants to upgrade to iPhone X when another iPhone XI is already out. At the end of the day, these phones still serve almost the same function, with little adjustment.

2. Recharge Cards For Call & Browsing Data

Changing phones like clothes is not enough but recharging the phones for calls and browsing is another money draining things we spend too much money on.

In all indications, network providers are benefiting immensely from spending habit of Nigerians when it comes to recharging and data usage. On the average, Nigerians spend over ₦5,000 on data monthly.

We wish to spend less on Data but Instagram Videos, YouTube Videos, Whatsapp Statusand the rest won’t let us.

3. Fueling Generator & Car

It’s sad that Nigeria is a country where you will use over N10,000 fuel just to enjoy yourN2,000 GOTV subscription.

Poor power supply in Nigeria is draining the pockets of everyone and the fact that you will still have to pay PHCN bill again after spending much on fuel makes the country more frustrating.

For those that have car too, with ₦145 per liter fuel rates, it is less expensive to use Public transport than a Private car.

4. Alcohol and Cigar

Taking a look at records of Alcohol and cigarettes consumption  in Nigeria in past years, it is quite obvious that Nigerians spend more on alcohol consumption.
It's a big time custom to see folks going out and spend on alcohol, just imagine the amount of money spent on alcohol and cigarettes in a month and tell me of what medical benefits it is adding to your life.
As a matter of fact, guys are now balling with no budget.

5. Transportation

Only Lagosians will understand that transportation takes away a larger part of one’s income.

Many people work far away from home, so going to work everyday drains money.

Thank You All For Reading

Now The Question Is 👇

Which Of The Above Drains Your Income The Most?

What Other Things Do You Think Should Be Added To This List?

Drop your comment!

BIG LIE!! Nigerian Lady Claims She Found Her Missing Nokia 3310 After 12 Years & It Was Still ON 😲😲 »

BIG LIE!! Nigerian Lady Claims She Found Her Missing Nokia 3310 After 12 Years & It Was Still ON 😲😲 »

Some Nigerians can lie ehn 😂😂😂

A Nigerian guy on Twitter, @Eric_Tc24, has got online users talking after he narrated an unbelievable story of how his sister found her Nokia 3310 still switched on after 12 years.

In the said tweet, he claimed that his sister misplaced the Nokia 3310 phone back in 2006, but when she traveled for Christmas last year 2018, she found the phone in a corner in her room and the part that got everyone talking is, he claimed she met the phone still switched on after 12 years with one bar of battery left 😂😂

LOL, is that even possible?

Well, this has caused a serious debate and blasting on Twitter – Some are calling him the king of all Liars for the story – as many told him, it’s not possible.

Trust Nigerians na, dem no dey carry last at all – They are currently roasting the guy online now.

See some Tweets below:-

Now, over to you 👇

If You Can See This Guy Right Now, What Would You Say To Him?

We want to hear from you too.

Drop your comments

BREAKING: Andy Ruiz knocks out Anthony Joshua, takes three world titles

BREAKING: Andy Ruiz knocks out Anthony Joshua, takes three world titles

USA's Andy Ruiz (L) knocks down England's Anthony Joshua (R) in the 7th round to win by TKO during their 12-round IBF, WBA, WBO & IBO World Heavyweight Championship fight at Madison Square Garden in New York on June 1, 2019. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

Ruiz recorded a monster upset, knocking down Britain’s Joshua four times to take the World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization titles.

Ruiz came into the fight as a massive 20-1 underdog. But he won it in the middle of the seventh round when the referee stopped it at 1:26 of the round after the fourth knockdown.

Ruiz, sent to the canvas once himself, knocked Joshua down twice in the third round and twice more in the seventh.

Joshua had a massive height and reach advantage as he weighed in at a chiselled 255 pounds compared to the portly Ruiz, who beefed up to 268 pounds compared to 250 for his most recent fight.

England’s Anthony Joshua (L) kneels after being knocked down by USA’s Andy Ruiz (R) in the 7th round to win by TKO during their 12-round IBF, WBA, WBO & IBO World Heavyweight Championship fight at Madison Square Garden in New York on June 1, 2019. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

Ruiz, who has won four fights in a row, looked fearless and poised while Joshua — who had won all 22 of his previous bouts — never seemed to recover from the first knockdown early in the third.

5 Reasons Online Relationships Fail

5 Reasons Online Relationships Fail

It's normal human nature, to seek companionship, love, and closure wherever they can find it. Whilst some people go through more conventional ways of meeting people like; dating apps or face to face, there are others who find closure or fall in love with people they met online. 

Online relationships have actually come to stay. This is because let's face it, this is where you always are anyway.

Nevertheless, being in a virtual relationship doesn't excuse couples from having regular relationship problems. Matter of fact, these issues they face are similar to the reasons why conventional "face to face" relationships fail.

Out of the many reasons for failed virtual relationships, here are 5 reasons why online relationships fail;

Unrealistic Expectations

When you've not seen someone before, you tend to create an ideal image of what they should look like in your head. At that point, they are your dream girl/guy.

This can cause you to put unrealistic expectations on them. If you two finally meet and they don't live up to those expectations, it breeds disappointment and hurt feelings.

Not Enough Face Time

Being in a relationship goes beyond text messages, calls and face time. A huge part of it requires the couple sitting down together to have a heart to heart conversation.

Online relationships lack this factor and the couple might begin to get frustrated because there are things they need to discuss, which can't be done over the phone. And if you two can't meet regularly, then over time both of you might get tired of not seeing each other.

It Is Online

An online relationship is only existent when both of you are online. As soon as you both go offline, the rules of engagement change.

They can do whatever they want and can tell their partner what they please. Virtual relationships lack honesty and faithfulness because

you can't see each other and as such, don't know what you're up to.

Also, most online relationships are one-sided and simply born out of love addiction. Your partner simply got into it because they are just excited to have someone on the whole internet to talk to on a regular basis.

Lack Of Physical Satisfaction

As a human being that you are, there are times when you will just be craving physical contact.

And there is nothing more disappointing and heartbreaking than having a boyfriend or girlfriend you can't do those things with because they are inside your phone or laptop.

You can't hug your laptop or imagine forever and at some point, you have to go out and find the real thing because "Body no be firewood".

Illusion

Online life is mere smokes and mirrors. It is not real, everyone has a made up personality to hide who they truly are in real life.

You may fall in love with someone's personality online and idolize the man or woman you have been chatting with for a while now.

Only for you to meet them and they turn out to be the complete opposite of the person you met online. And if their real-life personality doesn't match the one online, this can be a huge turnoff.

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A Candid Appeal To JAMB Over Its Massive Feasting On Nigerian Students

A Candid Appeal To JAMB Over Its Massive Feasting On Nigerian Students

Almost a year since the tertiary institutions entrance examination body, JAMB, remitted a whopping 7.8 billion naira to the Federal Government as surplus from the conduct of its 2018 UTME, Nigerians’ curiosity have increased to the exospheric heights as they are now demanding to know whether the board was established to be a profit making institution or not.

As the anticipation for answers persists, the JAMB, again, remitted N5 billion to the federal government’s coffers as yet another surplus from the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted last April.

But, we understand that the 1978 decree – amended in 1989 – that established JAMB does not in any way charge the agency with the responsibility of generating revenue for the federal government.

Its core responsibility, according to the founding decree, is preeminently to conduct Matriculation Examination for entry into all tertiary institutions and to “carry out other activities as are necessary or expedient for the full discharge…” of this responsibility, Section 5 (e) of the decree expressly states.

However, today, it is self-evident that the board has found means to accrue money well beyond the threshold of what is necessary and appropriate for a public institution whose primary goal is not revenue generation, but facilitation of educational pursuit of young Nigerians.

Realizing the humongous revenue made by the body in 2018, the federal government was compelled to reduce the cost of JAMB form from N5000 to 3, N500, but the reduction did not exactly dissuade JAMB’s profit ambition, hence the N6.3 billion realized from mere sales of forms in 2019. This excludes money realized from sales of change of course or institution and direct entry forms.

It should be made perfectly clear, without any word mincing, that the rot in JAMB as a public institution, is beyond human imagining. Nonetheless, the federal government has decidedly looked away especially now that its new boss, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede is proving to be productive judging by the board’s latest remittances.

In just two rounds of examination, 2018 and 2019 to be specific, Oloyede has raked approximately N15 billion in revenue compared to the paltry N50.7 million remitted by the agency between 2010 and 2016. The N51m is arguably all JAMB has made in over 40 years of its existence.

Now, the shocking diametric increase in revenue in less than 3 years that Oloyede took charge of JAMB didn’t seem to prompt an inquisition and audit into the account of the body by the Buhari-led administration with its flagship anti-corruption campaign.

But, every year, Nigerian students seeking admission are subjected to a vicious cycle of financial encumbrances and exploited by the same government or say its agency (JAMB) whose main goal should be to safeguard their interests and see that their educational dreams are attained with limited hassles.

Presently, NECO form is purchased at N9, 850 against previous N11, 350. Having scaled through, they are confronted with JAMB which squeezes N3, 500 or more out of them, then tertiary institutions for Post-UTME fees— that range from N2000 to N3000 and more. It is common knowledge that these serial exploitations do not guarantee admission.

As it stands, of over 1.8 million of them who took the 2019 UTME, only about 600, 000 or less will be admitted based on the annual admission capacity of about 273 tertiary institutions in the country today; Many candidates will have to retake and go through the same cycle next year as some of them have been doing already.

In the unlikely event that the federal government through the Ministry of Education, the National University Commission (NUC) or even JAMB itself will realize the need for a drastic reduction in the UTME fee, we advocate that such money remitted as surplus to the federal coffers be deployed to better the lot of Nigerian students and improve education in the country.

The commission should partner relevant education agencies and evolve ways to utilize the money to develop appropriate support systems that will cater for a teeming students or candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds and communities, rural areas and those with special educational needs & disabilities (SEND) who apply for the examination on a yearly basis.

Projects and causes abound in the education sector that the commission needs to venture into by the virtue of its revenue generating potentials. A fully-funded scholarships for its best candidates on a state by state basis is one of the judicious ways to utilize this revenue.

Furthermore, the creation of permanent CBT exam centres in various parts of the country will help ensure probity in the conduct of the exams and check incidences of exam malpractices. 

While calling on the federal government to probe JAMB’s account in order to ascertain what the commission has done with billions of naira it has generated over the past decades that it only remitted N51 million, we hold that the Joint Admission And Matriculation Board must review its charges on the Nigerians students and make any money made from them count for them.

By Deen

REPORT

HIV treatment and an undetectable viral load to prevent HIV transmission

HIV treatment and an undetectable viral load to prevent HIV transmission

Summary

It is now well known that the use of HIV treatment not only improves the health of people living with HIV, but is also a highly effective strategy to prevent HIV transmission. This is because HIV treatment can reduce the amount of virus (viral load) in the blood and other bodily fluids (such as semen and vaginal and rectal fluids) to undetectable levels. To become and remain undetectable, people living with HIV need to take their HIV treatment as prescribed. In addition to taking HIV medications, regular medical visits are important to monitor viral load to make sure it stays undetectable, and to receive other medical support.

Evidence shows that HIV-positive people who are on treatment, engaged in care, and have an ongoing undetectable viral load:

do not transmit HIV to their sexual partners;

do not transmit HIV to their baby during pregnancy and delivery (if they maintain an undetectable viral load throughout pregnancy and childbirth);

have a reduced chance of transmitting HIV through breastfeeding; however, breastfeeding is not recommended in Canada (formula feeding is the current recommendation);

have a reduced chance of transmitting HIV to people they share injection drug use equipment with, but there is currently not enough evidence to conclude that there is no risk.

How does HIV treatment and an undetectable viral load work to prevent HIV transmission?

HIV treatment, also called antiretroviral therapy (ART), works by controlling the replication of HIV in the body – that is, it reduces HIV’s ability to make copies of itself. When HIV replication is controlled, the viral load in the blood and bodily fluids decreases. Research tells us that as the viral load decreases, so does the risk of HIV transmission. When successful treatment lowers the viral load to undetectable levels, this can greatly reduce or eliminate the risk of HIV transmission.

ART usually consists of a combination of at least three antiretroviral drugs taken daily. Newer HIV treatments are safer, simpler and more effective than when ART was first introduced. The power of ART today is so profound that many people who start effective treatment soon after becoming HIV positive will have a near normal life span.

For most people the virus becomes so well controlled that within three to six months of starting treatment the amount of virus in their blood becomes undetectable by routinely used tests. Most viral load tests used in Canada cannot detect HIV in the blood if there are less than 40 to 50 copies of the virus per ml. However, the virus is still present at very low amounts in the body when the viral load is undetectable.

What is involved in the consistent and correct use of ART and an undetectable viral load for HIV prevention?

The consistent and correct use of ART to maintain an undetectable viral load includes:

high adherence to ART medications, to achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load

regular medical appointments to monitor viral load and receive adherence support, if needed

Regular testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is also important since this strategy does not protect against STIs.

A person on ART needs to work with their doctor to determine an appropriate schedule for medical check-ups and viral load monitoring.

What is important for this approach to work?

After starting treatment the viral load needs to become and remain undetectable for this approach to provide protection.

When a person first begins treatment, it usually takes three to six months for the viral load to become undetectable. Most people will eventually have an undetectable viral load if they have a drug combination that is effective against their strain of HIV and take it as prescribed by their doctor.

The viral load should remain undetectable for at least six months before depending on this approach as an effective HIV prevention strategy. A person must continue to have high adherence to treatment to maintain an undetectable viral load over time. The only way to know if the viral load remains undetectable over the long term is to have regular viral load tests.

However, not everyone’s viral load becomes and remains undetectable on treatment. This most commonly happens when someone has low adherence to medications, but it can also occur due to drug resistance or drug toxicity. When treatment fails, a person won’t know that their viral load is detectable until they get another viral load test. Depending on the reason the treatment failed, a person may require a change in treatment, or may benefit from adherence counselling, to bring their viral load back down to undetectable levels. The best options for moving forward should be discussed with a doctor.

How well does the use of ART to maintain an undetectable viral load prevent the sexual transmission of HIV?

Research conducted in serodiscordant couples (where one partner is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative) shows that, when used consistently and correctly, the use of ART to maintain an undetectable viral load is a highly effective strategy to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV for both heterosexual and same-sex male couples. Evidence from this research shows that when people on ART are engaged in care and maintain an undetectable viral load, they do not transmit HIV through sex.

The first study to show that ART and an undetectable viral load has a major prevention benefit in serodiscordant heterosexual couples was the randomized controlled trial known as HPTN 052. In the final analysis, which included 1,763 serodiscordant heterosexual couples (half of whom were followed for over five and a half years), no HIV transmissions occurred between couples in the study when the HIV-positive partner was on ART and had an undetectable viral load. In total, eight transmissions occurred between couples while the HIV-positive partner was on ART; however, in all eight cases the viral load was detectable, despite being on ART. Four transmissions occurred in the first three months after the HIV-positive partner started treatment, before the viral load was undetectable. The other four happened when treatment failed to maintain the viral load at undetectable levels. In addition to these eight transmissions, there were 26 people who acquired HIV infection from a sex partner outside of the primary relationship, showing that in a serodiscordant couple in which the HIV-positive partner is on ART with an undetectable viral load, the main risk of HIV transmission comes from outside the relationship.

Results from a large two-phase observational study known as PARTNER showed that ART and an undetectable viral load prevents the sexual transmission of HIV in both heterosexual and same-sex male couples in the absence of other forms of HIV prevention (condoms, PrEP or PEP). The first phase of the study included heterosexual and same-sex male couples, and the second phase continued with only same-sex male couples. In this study there was a large number of unprotected sex acts (no condoms, PrEP or PEP) when the viral load was undetectable – approximately 36,000 among heterosexual couples and over 70,000 among same-sex male couples enrolled in the study. By the end of the study, there were no HIV transmissions between couples in the study when the HIV-positive partner was on ART and had an undetectable viral load. However, there were 16 new HIV infections (15 gay men and one heterosexual person) that were transmitted from a sex partner outside of the relationship.

An observational study similar to PARTNER, called Opposites Attract, also found no HIV transmissions between serodiscordant same-sex male couples when the partner was on treatment and maintained an undetectable viral load despite over 12,000 condomless anal sex acts. In this study, three of the HIV-negative partners got HIV from a partner outside of the relationship.

In both the PARTNER and Opposites Attract studies there was a high incidence of STIs. Between the two studies there were over 8,000 condomless anal sex acts between serodiscordant male couples during a period when at least one partner had an STI, and no HIV transmissions occurred. This indicates that an undetectable viral load prevents HIV transmission even in the presence of other STIs.

All participants in these studies were engaged in regular healthcare appointments to check viral load, test for STIs, and receive adherence and prevention counselling. They were also treated for STIs when needed. These comprehensive supports are an important part of regular follow-up care while on ART.

The results of these (and earlier) studies provide a strong body of evidence showing that people living with HIV who are adherent to ART and engaged in regular healthcare, with a sustained undetectable viral load, do not transmit HIV sexually. The PARTNER and Opposites Attract studies show that this is true even when condoms are not used, an din th epresence of other STIs.

How well does the use of ART to maintain an undetectable viral load prevent HIV transmission to a baby during pregnancy and birth, and while breastfeeding?

If a pregnant person starts HIV treatment prior to or very early in pregnancy and maintains an undetectable viral load during pregnancy and delivery, they will not transmit HIV to their baby. However, it is possible to transmit HIV through breastfeeding (sometimes called chestfeeding) because human milk can contain HIV even when the viral load is undetectable. 

A French cohort study found that no HIV transmissions occurred among 2,651 infants born to women who were on treatment before they conceived and throughout their pregnancy, and who had an undetectable viral load at delivery. Newborn children of HIV-positive people are also given a short course of HIV medication to help prevent transmission. However, if treatment is not taken for the entire duration of pregnancy or if an undetectable viral load is not maintained, there is a risk of HIV transmission to the infant during pregnancy and/or delivery. HIV testing is important for people who are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant, so that people who test positive can begin treatment and reduce or eliminate the risk of passing HIV to their babies.

The risk of transmitting HIV through breastfeeding while on treatment and maintaining an undetectable viral load is very low, but not zero. While an undetectable viral load greatly reduces the risk of transmission, there have been some cases of HIV transmission among breastfeeding women who had undetectable viral loads. Canadian guidelines recommend that HIV-positive parents feed their babies formula to prevent transmission. However, experts recommend that people who are on treatment and maintaining an undetectable viral load who have a strong desire to breastfeed should receive clinical support to do so as safely as possible.

How well does the use of ART to maintain an undetectable viral load prevent HIV transmission through injection drug use?

An HIV-positive person who is engaged in care, on ART and has a sustained undetectable viral load is also considerably less likely to pass HIV through injection drug use. The available research suggests that this strategy is effective at preventing HIV transmission among people who inject drugs; however, there is not enough evidence to conclude that there is no risk.

Two ecological studies from Vancouver and Baltimore reported on reductions in new HIV infections over time and found an association with a reduction in the community viral load of people who inject drugs. Although it is likely that increased uptake of ART is partly responsible for the observed decline in the number of new infections, it is difficult to know how much of this change can be attributed to an increase in harm reduction services that also occurred during this period. A recent cohort study in India among 14,481 people who inject drugs and 12,022 men who have sex with men found a clear correlation between estimated HIV incidence and both community-level treatment coverage and viral suppression. This study found significant correlations at the community level, but since it was not designed to look at individual risk of transmission, no estimate of effectiveness was available.

Is the use of ART to maintain an undetectable viral load intended to be used as a replacement for condoms and other HIV prevention strategies?

Although the use of ART to maintain an undetectable viral load works regardless of whether condoms or PrEP are used, everyone should be able to choose a prevention strategy that works best for them. This strategy is one of several highly effective options for preventing sexual HIV transmission; however, it does not offer protection against STIs (such as herpes, chlamydia or syphilis). Condoms are the only effective strategy to help prevent STIs.

For people who inject drugs, other prevention programs and strategies (such as the distribution and use of new injecting equipment) are important to help prevent HIV transmission, as well as other blood-borne infections such as hepatitis C.

Resources

CATIE resources

CATIE statement on the use of antiretroviral treatment (ART) as a highly effective strategy to maintain an undetectable viral load to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV

Undetectable viral load and HIV sexual transmission

The Power of Undetectable: What you need to know about HIV treatment as prevention

Negligible Risk: Updated results from two studies continue to show that antiretroviral treatment and an undetectable viral load is a highly effective HIV prevention strategy – CATIE News

Views from the front lines: Pregnancy and infant feeding – Prevention in Focus

 

Guidelines, position papers and consensus statements

Canadian Consensus Statement on the health and prevention benefits of HIV antiretroviral medications and HIV testing – CTAC, CATIE, positivelite.com

Expert consensus statement on the science of HIV in the context of criminal law (2018) – Journal of the international AIDS society

Risk of sexual transmission of HIV from a person with HIV who has an undetectable viral load: Messaging Primer & Consensus Statement – Prevention Access Campaign

Community Consensus Statement on access to HIV treatment and its use for prevention – AVAC, EATG, MSMGF, GNP+, HIV i-Base, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, ITPC, NAM/aidsmap

Expert Consensus: Viral Load and Risk of HIV Transmission – Institut National de Santé Publique du Quebec (INSPQ)

Consolidated guidelines on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations – World Health Organization (WHO)

References

Baeten JM, Kahle E, Lingappa JR et al. Genital HIV-1 RNA predicts risk of heterosexual HIV-1 transmission. Science Translational Medicine. 2011 Apr 6;3(77):77ra29.

Lee PK, Kieffer TL, Siliciano RF, et al. HIV-1 viral load blips are of limited clinical significance. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2006;57:803–805.

Cohen MS, Chen YQ, McCauley M, et al. Prevention of HIV-1 infection with early antiretroviral therapy. New England Journal of Medicine. 2011 Aug 11;365(6):493–505.

Cohen MS, Chen YQ, McCauley M, et al. Antiretroviral therapy for the prevention of HIV-1 transmission. New England Journal of Medicine. 2016;375:830–839. Available from: http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa1600693

Eshleman SH, Hudelson SE, Redd AD, et al. Treatment as Prevention: Characterization of partner infections in the HIV Prevention Trials Network 052 trial. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 2017 Jan 1;74(1):112–116.

Rodger AJ, Cambiano V, Bruun T, et al. Sexual activity without condoms and risk of HIV transmission in serodifferent couples when the HIV-positive partner is using suppressive antiretroviral therapy. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2016;316(2):171–181. Available from: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2533066

Rodger AJ, Cambiano V, Bruun T, et al. Risk of HIV transmission through condomless sex in MSM couples with suppressive ART: The PARTNER2 Study extended results in gay men. 22^nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018). Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 2018. Oral Abstract WEAX0104LB.

Bavinton BR, Pinto AN, Phanuphak N et al. Viral suppression and HIV transmission in serodiscordant male couples: an international, prospective, observational, cohort study. Lancet HIV. 2018 Aug;5(8):e438–e447.

Stürmer M, Doerr HW, Berger A, Gute P. Is transmission of HIV-1 in non-viraemic serodiscordant couples possible? Antiviral Therapy. 2008;13(5):729–732.

Wood E, Milloy MJ, Montaner JS. HIV treatment as prevention among injection drug users. Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS. 2012 Mar:7(2):151–156.

Wood E, Kerr T, Marshall BDL, et al. Longitudinal community plasmas HIV-1 RNA concentrations and incidence of HIV-1 among injecting drug users: prospective cohort study. British Medical Journal. 2009 16 May 16:338(7704):1191–1194.

Fraser H, Mukandavire C, Martin NK, et al. HIV treatment as prevention among people who inject drugs – a re-evaluation of the evidence. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2017 Apr 1;46(2):466–478.

Galvin SR, Cohen MS. The role of sexually transmitted diseases in HIV transmission. Nature Reviews Microbiology. 2004 Jan;2(1):33–42.

Ward H, Rönn M. The contribution of STIs to the sexual transmission of HIV. Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS. 2010 Jul;5(4):305–310.

Bispo S, Chikhungu L, Rollins N, et al. Postnatal HIV transmission in breastfed infants of HIV-infected women on ART: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the International AIDS Society. 2017 Feb 20;20(1):1–8.

Mandelbrot L, Tubiana R, Le Chenadec J, et al. No perinatal HIV-1 transmission from women with effective antiretroviral therapy starting before conception. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2015;61:1715–1725.

Luoga E. HIV transmission from mothers on antiretroviral therapy to their infants during breastfeeding in Rural Tanzania. In: Program and abstracts of the 16^th European AIDS Conference, 25–27 October, Milan, 2017. Abstract PS5/5.

Shapiro RL, Hughes MD, Ogwu A, et al. Antiretroviral regimens in pregnancy and breast-feeding in Botswana. New England Journal of Medicine. 17 June 2010;362(24):2282–2294.

Palombi L, Pirillo MF, Andreotti M, et al. Antiretroviral prophylaxis for breastfeeding transmission in Malawi: drug concentrations, virological efficacy and safety. Antiviral Therapy. 2012;17:1511–1519.

Kahlert C, Aebi-Popp K, Bernasconi E, et al. Is breastfeeding an equipoise option in effectively treated HIV-infected mothers in a high-income setting? Swiss Medical Weekly. 2018 Jul 23;148:w14648. Available from: https://smw.ch/article/doi/smw.2018.14648

Kirk G, Galai N, Astemborski J, et al. Decline in community viral load strongly associated with declining HIV incidence among IDU: In: Proceedings of the 18th conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections; 27 Feb to 2 March 2011, Boston, MA, USA; 2011.

Solomon SS, Mehta SH, McFall AM, et al. Community viral load, antiretroviral therapy coverage, and HIV incidence in India: a cross sectional, comparative study. The Lancet HIV. 2016; 3: e183–e190.

Nolan S, Milloy MJ, Zhang R. Adherence and plasma HIV RNA response to antiretroviral therapy among HIV-seropositive injection drug users in a Canadian setting. AIDS Care. 2011;23:980–987.

 

Author(s): Arkell C, Harrigan M.

Published: 2018

Please note that some content on this website contains language, information and images related to sexuality and drug use, and may not be intended for people of all ages. CATIE ensures that these resources, developed to help prevent the transmission of HIV, hepatitis C and other infections, are written and reviewed by health experts for content accuracy.

11-Year-Old Kid From Nigeria Creates Hyperrealistic Drawings, And The Result Will Blow Your Mind

11-Year-Old Kid From Nigeria Creates Hyperrealistic Drawings, And The Result Will Blow Your Mind

hopefornigeriaonline.com

Meet Kareen Waris Olamilekan (also known as Waspa), an 11-year-old artist from Lagos, Nigeria, who is quickly gaining international recognition for his life-like drawings.

This talented young man is currently studying at Ayowole Academy of Arts, calls himself a “bitty artist”, and dreams about seeing his works in a museum someday.

Olamilekan has been drawing since the age of 6, and the main subject of his hyperrealistic works is usually portraits, although he sometimes goes beyond them, too. “I draw my friends. I draw cartoons, comics. I draw illustrations from textbooks and newspapers,” Olamilekan told BBC. “I draw hyperrealistic pencil works.”

Every drawing that Kareen creates stuns us with the details that are not something very common for an 11-year-old. Kareen says that his inspiration comes from everything that’s happening around him, especially his family, but also he reflects a lot on two of his artistic idols – Nigerian artist Arinze Stanley, who also specializes in hyperrealism, and Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo.

The most famous artwork that Olamilekan created is called “Daily Bread” – it depicts a person eating in sweat and tears. “My family, we work hard before we put food in our mouths, before we eat,” explains Kareen. “That’s what inspires me.”

This is Kareen Waris Olamilekan, an 11-year-old artist from Lagos, Nigeria

He’s quickly gaining international recognition for his life-like drawings

This talented young man is currently studying at Ayowole Academy of Arts

He calls himself a “bitty artist”, and dreams about seeing his works in a museum someday

Olamilekan has been drawing since the age of 6

The main subject of his hyperrealistic works is usually portraits, although he sometimes goes beyond them, too

“I draw my friends. I draw cartoons, comics. I draw illustrations from textbooks and newspapers”

Every drawing that Kareen creates stuns people with the details that are not very common for an 11-year-old

Kareen says that his inspiration comes from everything that’s happening around him, especially his family

He also reflects a lot on two of his artistic idols – Nigerian artist Arinze Stanley and Italian master Michelangelo

The most famous artwork that Olamilekan created is called “Daily Bread”

It depicts a person eating in sweat and tears

“My family, we work hard before we put food in our mouths, before we eat,” explains Kareen

“That’s what inspires me”

Although Kareen is using social media for not that long

He’s already counting almost 38k followers on Instagram who are stunned by his artworks

What a talented young man!

JAMB to review 687 CBT centres' reports before releasing UTME results

JAMB to review 687 CBT centres' reports before releasing UTME results

thenationonlineng.net

Apr 30, 2019 12:01 AM

The results of this year’s unified tertiary matriculation examination (UTME) will be released as soon as reports from the 687 Computer-Based Test centres used for the conduct of the examination are reviewed, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, has said.

The board said the review of reports from the centres would be concluded either Monday (yesterday) or Tuesday (today).

JAMB spokesperson Dr. Fabian Benjamin, who addressed reporters yesterday in Abuja on the issue, attributed the delay in releasing the results to fraudulent practices by some candidates.

The UTME was conducted between April 11 and 17.

Benjamin said some candidates abused some of the innovations introduced by the board, making it necessary to properly screen the UTME results to ensure that the board does not release the results of a compromised examination.

He said: “We are comparing reports from the field, and as soon as we finish – either today or tomorrow – we will commence the process of releasing the results.

“We are collecting reports from 687 centres. The results will be released as soon as we finish what we are doing.”

The JAMB spokesman also said the board would investigate issues bordering on biometric failure during the conduct of the examination.

There were reports of biometric verification challenge in some centres during the examination.

Benjamin said the board would look into it as soon as it finishes releasing the UTME results to ensure that candidates with genuine biometric issues are not made to suffer.

According to him, if a candidate could be captured during registration, there is nothing stopping the fingerprints of such candidate from being captured during the examination.

“As soon as we finish releasing results, we will look into it. If there is any candidate with genuine reason, we will see what we can do.

“We will investigate all issues of biometric verification. If we find the cases to be genuine, we will do the needful,” he said.

This Man Knew He Was Being Scammed on the Internet. What He Did Next Changed His Scammer’s Life

This Man Knew He Was Being Scammed on the Internet. What He Did Next Changed His Scammer’s Life

Apr 28, 2019 11:43 PM

An online con 
goes wonderfully, 
implausibly right.

From target and scammer to business partners and friends: Ben Taylor (left) and Joel Willie Courtesy Ben Taylor From target and scammer to business partners and friends: Ben Taylor (left) and Joel Willie

One day in the winter of 2017, Ben Taylor received this random Facebook message: “My name is Joel from Liberia, 
West Africa. I need some assistance from you. Business or financial assistance dat [sic] will help empower me.”

No one likes Internet scammers, Taylor included. So the 32-year-old marketer from Ogden, Utah, insincerely responded, “How can I help?”
“I wanted to see how this whole scam operation worked and how they bait people,” Taylor explains. “I just wanted to go down this rabbit hole and see what are the tricks that they use to get people.”

But there’s no way he could have guessed what would happen next. Joel Willie was indeed in Liberia, and he proposed a business partnership. He asked Taylor to mail some used electronics to an address in New Jersey. Supposedly the electronics would be resold and the profits split between the two of them.

“I looked the place up on Google Earth,” Taylor says. “There were broken-­down cars all over the place.” He wrote back to Willie and told him he was skeptical. Willie insisted he would never take advantage of someone. “­Bible says in Proverbs 22 a good name is better than silver n gold,” he wrote.

Taylor didn’t buy it, and he replied with a small lie of his own. “I figured the more time of theirs that I can waste, the less time that they’d have to spend ripping me or other people off.”

He told Willie he owned a photography business and could use some pretty pictures.

“How about a nice Liberian sunset?” Taylor asked.

Was Taylor planning on paying for the photos? Willie wanted to know.

“If they’re good, sure,” Taylor said.

Willie wasted no time. He snapped a couple of sunset photos on his old dinosaur flip phone and sent them to Taylor’s phone the next day.

“I told him, ‘Hey, this is great,’ ” Taylor says. Another fib—he wasn’t even sure it was a sunset in the photos.

Willie said he could take better pictures if he had a better camera. Taylor decided to play along and see what happened. So he picked up the cheapest camera he could find—a shiny red one—and shipped it off to Liberia. The postage cost as much as the camera. And now Taylor was really invested in this—whatever it was. “My family thinks I’m crazy because I’m interacting with this guy in Liberia,” he says.

Willie kept in close touch, telling Taylor he wanted to be a journalist. He wrote, “I’ve decided 2 really commit n devote myself 2 dis business, what other pictures you want me 2 take?”

Still skeptical, Taylor said he’d like to see 20 shots of life in Liberia. A week later, a bunch more blurry photos came through on his phone.
“Joel has to be the worst photographer on the planet,” Taylor said in a YouTube video he made chronicling his adventures. By now, he had realized something interesting was happening and decided to document it.

When Taylor wrote back, he shared some advice for taking better ­pictures—hold the camera steady, for one thing. The next batch of Willie’s photos came a few days later and contained about 20 more shots of people doing everyday things: walking in town, tinkering on their houses (some of which could only generously be described as shacks). For Taylor, the images were heartbreaking. He had never seen such poverty. But their quality was much better—which posed a big problem.

“When he put in the work, I thought, Oh no, now I’ve got to figure out a way to compensate Joel for these pictures, or I’m going to be the scammer,” Taylor says.

Willie’s photos of life in Liberia struck a chord with people around the world. Courtesy Ben Taylor Willie’s photos of life in Liberia struck a chord with people around the world.

He decided to make a booklet using the pictures, calling it By D Grace of God, a phrase borrowed from ­Willie’s messages. Then Taylor took to ­YouTube, where a few thousand people had started to follow his dispatches, and to the crowdfunding site indiegogo.com, where he figured he’d sell a few copies of the 16-page booklet, featuring a dozen of Willie’s Liberia photos, for $8 a pop. Sales exploded.

“People from around the world and places that I’ve never even heard of were buying Joel’s book,” Taylor says.

Soon he had raised $1,000. He told Willie he could have half. And the rest? Well, Taylor decided that Willie would get that, too—but with a catch. Taylor told him he had to donate that $500 to charity.

That is more than a year’s salary in Liberia. So Taylor didn’t really expect an unemployed, impoverished hustler to just give all that money away. Then another batch of pictures arrived. They showed smiling children with book bags and notebooks. Willie had bought out a market, rented a cab to haul the loot, and blessed five schools with abundance.

“He came through,” Taylor says. It was a revelation.

Taylor set aside his doubt and distrust, and then he did something else he never could have imagined a few months earlier: He traveled 6,500 miles to Monrovia, Liberia. He wanted to confront the man who’d tried to scam him, although confront probably isn’t the right word.

Willie says scam isn’t the right word either. He says he had just been looking to make a friend. But he also needed money.

By the time the two men finally met in person, he had found both. “We were business partners. And we were friends,” says Taylor.

Taylor expected that Willie would pocket all their sales money. Then this photo arrived. Courtesy Ben Taylor Taylor expected that Willie would pocket all their sales money. Then this photo arrived.

When he got to Monrovia, Taylor felt surprisingly at home. “I saw the places and the faces from the pictures Joel had sent,” he says. When he got to 
Willie’s street, he recognized it right away. He found his friend sitting outside his house, which was little more than cinder block walls, a dirt floor, and a tin roof. Inside were ­Willie’s wife and some of his seven children, who also greeted Taylor like an old friend.

Willie confessed to Taylor that he used to send Facebook messages to strangers, hoping to find some way a new friend would help him out of poverty. He said he was “more than desperate.”

“To feed the kids, a lot of things run into your mind,” Willie said. “Go and do this—the wrong thing.”

Fortunately, “By D Grace of God,” it never came to that. The booklets kept selling (8,000 at press time). People started taking pictures of themselves holding their copies and posting them on social media with the tag #bookofjoel. Soon Willie had new friends in more than 
40 countries, and Taylor’s fund-raising campaign had raised $12,000.

Some of the profits went toward Willie’s basic needs, such as a new roof to keep the rain out of his home. But the two men decided most of the money should be reinvested in the community.

Half the people in Liberia survive on less than $2 a day. Over the past 
20 years, the country has seen two civil wars and an Ebola outbreak that killed nearly 5,000 people in a nation of more than four million. Because need is every­where, Taylor and Willie decided to start with the most vulnerable and supplied five more schools with book bags, notebooks, and other necessities.

Taylor decided to tell their story in a second booklet, By D Grace of God: A True Story. Sales of both booklets total some $90,000 so far. And over the past year or so, with Taylor in Utah keeping track of the money and wiring it as needed and Willie the man on the street in Monrovia, they have done a lot more good. They paid the utility bills at one school and the teachers’ salaries at another that was about to close because its funding had dried up. For Christmas, Willie handed out care packages of used clothing to 500 kids—what he said they wanted most—and 25 bags of rice to needy families. They have begun mentoring entrepreneurs and making microloans of $50 to $100—a life-changing sum in Monrovia.

Willie’s street looked familiar to Taylor, thanks to all the blurry photos. Courtesy Ben Taylor Willie’s street looked familiar to Taylor, thanks to all the blurry photos.

Of course, the locals aren’t the only ones who have been changed by this unlikely partnership. Taylor says he’s no longer the cynic who started all this. “That’s just not me,” he says. “I’ve changed. I set out to embarrass a guy. I ended up helping a guy. I would much rather continue to help people. You feel good when you help others.”

As for Willie, he says he’s changed too. Although he still has to support his wife and kids on what many Americans spend at Starbucks, he says he’s OK using much of the money to help others. In fact, he says the opportunity to be charitable may be the best thing to come from all this.

“I used to receive,” Willie says. “I’m the one who’s giving now, and it’s better to give than to always receive.”

Did he ever consider keeping the $500? No, he says. “It’s stealing. And that would be dishonest. When you are truthful, when you are honest, you can come from nobody to somebody. I have come from zero to hero.”

Taylor has already been back to 
Liberia, and he says he plans to keep going, to keep helping. Because, as he says, “when you give someone a chance, sometimes they’re not who you thought they were. Sometimes they ­surprise you. And sometimes you end up being the answer to their prayers.”

JAMB to release 2019 UTME results Monday

JAMB to release 2019 UTME results Monday

dailytrust.com.ng

Apr 28, 2019 6:45 AM

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has assured candidates of the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) that results would be ready from tomorrow, April 29.

The Board’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dr Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Bwari.

Benjamin said that screening of the results would soon be over and the result released.

“We are still screening but hopefully, anytime next week, the results will be ready,” he said. (NAN)

You’re Ignorant, Watch Your Language: Dogara Blasts Tinubu On Budget Padding Allegation!

You’re Ignorant, Watch Your Language: Dogara Blasts Tinubu On Budget Padding Allegation!

punchng.com

Apr 23, 2019 12:53 Pm

Dogara; Tinubu

Leke Baiyewu, Abuja

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, has replied the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over the latter’s allegation that the National Assembly has been padding the national budget for four years.

Dogara, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, carpeted Tinubu, describing him as “ignorant of the budgetary process.”

The statement reads in part, “Only the ignorant with dubious academic certificates will say the maker of a document has padded the document that only he can constitutionally make.

“Finally, we advise Asiwaju Tinubu to be circumspect in his use of language.

“In this case, he spoke as a spokesperson of depravity. Our reaction must therefore be seen as a provoked counter-punch.

“Any one can descend into the gutter if he so wishes; but no one has a monopoly of gutter language.

“We won’t run an adult day care centre anymore on matters like this.”

2019 UTME results still under scrutiny ― JAMB

2019 UTME results still under scrutiny ― JAMB

tribuneonlineng.com

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has explained the delay in release of the results of the just concluded 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), saying it is a “programmed delay.”

The Board said the results are still under scrutiny following discovery that the cases of multiple registration and impersonation were massive.

JAMB made this known in its Weekly Bulletin made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja, disclosing that over 100 candidates have been picked up by security agencies particularly for incident of multiple registration aimed at facilitating impersonation and “ghost” writing.

The Board, however, said the process of checking the results has been simplified, saying all a candidate needed to do was to send RESULT to 55019 using the same phone number that was used for registration and that the result would be returned as a Text Message.

JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, had vowed to ensure that no act of examination infraction could escape the eagle eye of the Board having engaged cutting edge technology to capture all activities taking place in all Computer Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.

This is even as the Board announced that the results of all examinations held at two CBT centres in Abia State, namely Heritage and Infinity CBT Centre and Okwyzil Computer Institute Comprehensive School, Ugwunabo, Aba, have been cancelled due to widespread irregularities.

“By implication, all the results of all the examination sessions starting from 11th April to 18th, 2019 conducted by the Board at these two centres were cancelled,” JAMB said.

It said the action was taken after visual evidence derived from a careful review of the CCTV recordings by a panel of experts engaged by the Board, adding that some candidates who had not taken their examinations were however, relocated from the two centres to others when the officials of the Board discovered massive irregularities at the affected centres.

The Board in the Bulletin said: “After a thorough, rigorous and successful screening process to identify and apprehend examination cheats especially those involved in multiple registration through the combination of fingers for biometric capturing, group bulk registration by elite schools, which ended up mixing candidates’ data, JAMB would release the results of the 2019 UTME.

“The examination began on Thursday 11 April, 2019 and as usual the results are expected to be out within 24 to 48 hours as obtained in previous examinations held in 2017 and 2018.

“However, the Board does not want the release of the 2019 UTME results to be business as usual; hence the programmed delay, which is part of its deliberate efforts to properly scrutinize, identify and address all forms of examination malpractices, particularly as it pertains to ghost writing and multiple registrations.

“The Board has simplified the process of checking the 2019 UTME results conducted from Thursday 11th April, to Thursday 18th April, 2019 for candidates thereby precluding their unconscionable exploitation by shylock business centres which often take advantage of candidates,” the Board said.

Meanwhile, JAMB has disclosed that no less than 100 candidates have been arrested by security agencies nationwide as the Board recorded a major breakthrough in the efforts to sanitize the examination process and strengthen the integrity of the Board’s examination results.

The Board said the annual examination had been bedeviled by unwholesome practices of candidates, their parents and other accomplices.

JAMB particularly noted that the incident of multiple registration according to its findings with respect to biometrics, facial recognition and names among others, indicated that multiple registrations bloat the actual candidates’ registrations in any given year by as much as 30 per cent.

It said from the data available, this unwholesome act was not limited to any part of the country but cuts across all the states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Board said in its efforts to stamp out all forms of examination malpractices had synergised with security agencies nationwide to entrap the culprits resulting in their apprehension.

It said: “Among those arrested was a candidate who registered sixty-four (64) times in a bid to ‘ghost-write’ examination for 64 candidates since the examination runs for seven days with an average of three shifts per day per centre.

“It should be noted that the arrest of the suspects was made possible by the comprehensive and mandatory identity checks conducted on those taking the examination with a view to fishing out professional ghost writers before the release of the results.