The Nation Newspaper

Tag: HIV/AIDS

  • HIV/AIDS: Group seeks removal of ARV fee in 2019

    The Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) has called on governments to ensure Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) is completely free, accessible and without user fee in 2019.

    Mr Peter Obialor, Lagos State Coordinator of the group, made the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Lagos.

    He added that his members were currently paying N2,000 monthly to access the drugs.

    The group also requested that treatments should be made available in the nearest facilities closer to People Living with HIV (PLHIV) for easy access.

    “The major thing we request from governments this year is to make PLHIV accessing treatment totally free, no user fee and it should be in all the nearest places and facilities for easy accessibility.

    “We have only benefited from AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN) programme which allows us free access to drugs.

    “Other implementing partners (IPs) like FHI 360, a global health and development organisation in charge of Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) and many other hospitals and facilities have refused us free access to drugs.

    “They are also collecting user fee, like for test which is not supposed to be so.

    “ We pay as high as N2,000 per pack every month; many PLHIV cannot afford paying this fee and so, this has made many fall from adherence.

    “They are no more picking the drugs when they are supposed to and they are also not swallowing or taking the drugs when necessary,’’ Obialor said.

    According to him, many PLHIV are now leaving their facilities to other facilities because of user fee.

    He said “When they go there, they double count and register themselves as new clients instead of continuing from where they stopped.

    “They go there and start afresh because no user fee is required’’.

    Obialor called for assistance of stakeholders to cut off the fee so that the planned 90-90-90 Strategy to get HIV epidemic under control could be achieved.

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    NAN reports that the 90-90-90 is a concept introduced by the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS in 2013.

    The idea is that by 2020, 90 per cent of people who are HIV infected will be diagnosed, 90 per cent of people who are diagnosed will be on antiretroviral treatment and 90 per cent of those who receive Antiretroviral will be virally suppressed.

    Obialor also decried how the CD4 count test usually carried out on PLHIV to know how their immune system functions had been stopped.

    He pleaded that CD4 count and viral load tests be carried out together so that PLHIV would have adequate information to manage their status.

    He called for proper equipment of Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and employment of more trained doctors and nurses to oversee needs of PLHIV.

  • Lagos sensitises 500 religious leaders on HIV/AIDS

    The Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA) has commenced the sensitisation of 500 religious leaders across the five divisions of Lagos State on HIV/AIDS, in order to increase the uptake of HIV Testing Services (HTS) to achieve the UNAIDS 90-90-90 initiative.

    The sensitisation, according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Oluseyi Temowo, was important to meeting the first 90 of the initiative, which is to enable 90 per cent of the people know their HIV status.

    According to the initiative, 90 per cent of those that know their status must have also access to anti-retroviral treatment (ART) and 90 per cent of patients on ART must experience viral suppression and be unable to infect other people.

    He lamented the escalation of moral decadence in the society, which has led to a situation whereby men engage in anal sex with each other while several folk indulge in indiscriminate use of drugs hence the need to engage the religious leaders to talk to their congregations about HIV/AIDS.

    Dr. Temowo stated, that, religious leaders are critical stakeholders to achieving eradication of the scourge by 2030 in Lagos State.

    According to him, about 48 per cent of the first 90 was achieved this year, but LSACA is planning to double its efforts in the coming year.

    Dr. Temowo said that the sensitisation would enlightened the religious leaders to help pass correct information about HIV to their followers.

    Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Religious Matters, Dr. Verrals Kolawole, said that, no stone would be left unturned in the government’s campaign against HIV/AIDS.

    Churches and mosques, he said, are not immune from the scourge hence the need for the religious leaders involvement.

  • Group lauds HIV\AIDS self-testing programme

    In its bid to reduce  the spread of HIV/AIDs among youths, the 4Youth-By-Youth (4YBY) group has lauded the self-testing programme  of three young Nigerians.

    In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the World AIDs Day, with the theme: “Know your status”, the 4YBY group had recognised three young personalities, who were among the pool of 903 contestants that proposed smart ideas on the promotion of the HIV/AIDS self-testing amongst Nigerian youths. This took place at the Police Training College, Ikeja, Lagos.

    The  4YBY group, a team of Nigerian researchers led  byDr. Oliver Ezechi of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Researchers (NIMR) and scientists at Saint Louis University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is backed by the United States National Institute of Health (NIH), Eunice Shriver National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development.

    At the event, the top three winners went home with cash prizes, cool gadgets, medical kits as well as mentorship opportunities from leading business and health professionals. They will also be trained based on the ideas they have pitched. Also, free condoms were given out, while oral and confirmatory blood-based HIV tests were administered to over 300 attendees by medical practitioners at the event. Over 1000 attendees got a chance to enter a raffle draw to win lots of exciting prizes.

    Meanwhile, the team had coordinated a social media-driven HIV Self-Testing Contest that ran from October 25 to November 25, 2018, in a bid to crowdsource innovative ideas to promote HIV self-testing in Nigeria.

    Speaking at the event, 4YBYprincipal investigator, Dr. Juliet Iwelunmor, said: “Our goal is to drive the increased participation of young Nigerians in the fight against HIV/AIDS through generating demand and adoption of self-testing. This we hope to achieve by rewarding innovative and creative ideas that encourage self-testing amongst Nigerian Youth, which will ultimately go a long way in helping to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat.”

    The 4YBY group, in collaboration with Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LASACA), had earlier organised a walkathon, which took place before the commencement of the award ceremony. Nigeria currently has the highest rate of new HIV infection in Africa, after South Africa and Uganda. UNAIDS reported that there are 200,000 newly infected people in Nigeria annually – 46,000 of these are young women and 33,900 are young men.

  • WAD: Association advocates healthy lifestyle

    The National Association of Seadogs (NAS), also known as Pyrates Confraternity, has advocated safe and healthy lifestyles to stem the scourge of HIV/AIDS in the country.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that members of the association organised a hiking exercise in Abuja to create awareness on the significance of healthy living.

    Mr Stanley Nwodo, President of the association, Abuja branch encouraged Nigerians to maintain a healthy lifestyle to avoid contracting the disease.

    Nwodo, who is also a legal practitioner, said the association was engaging with the government to encourage policies aimed at addressing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

    “We are encouraging everyone to play safe and we have members that are highly placed to influence policies.

    “We are engaging government in many ways and where we cannot work with government directly, we partner with NGOs,” he said.

    Mr Dino Nsima, a Public Health Consultant lauded the efforts of government in making antiretroviral drugs readily available to those living with the virus and urged those who have been exposed to get tested properly.

    “The Dolutegravir (DTG) drug has the propensity to drive down the viral load and has less negative impact on the individual.

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    “It was only supposed to be used as a second line drug but Nigeria has brought it in as a first line drug which is a fantastic move by the government.

    “All the research carried out shows that more than 90 per cent of individuals using it are doing well.”

    Mr Aqua Edet, an hotelier and a member of the association, also urged the government to continue with its fight against the spread of the disease.

    “The essence of coming out is to try to put pressure on the Nigerian government to do more in terms of funding of this scourge.

    “You would agree that a lot has been done by the country, the bulk of the job is done by the international community and donor agencies.

    ”So we encourage the country to do more about reducing the scourge of HIV/AIDS.”

    Edet further corrected the general notion that hotels were a place where careless lifestyles were being perpetrated.

    “There is this general perception about hotels being a place where careless lifestyles are being supported but far from it.

    “I have been privy to highly placed workshops held in my facility to encourage sensitisation on preventive mechanisms.

    ”I have come to the knowledge that you can actually live your full life if you are infected but it is all about how you live your life.”

    Mr Seun Olokeogun, a legal practitioner, said that various activities were done by the association globally to mark the day.

    “We are educating the world on the scourge, how to prevent it, reduce it, manage it, and also to create awareness.

    ”The National Association of Seadogs is partnering with other international organisations and the government to enhance its sensitisation efforts on the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

    “What we are doing today by this mountain climbing is a form of keeping fit and also to say HIV/AIDS can be conquered the same way we have conquered this mountain.

    “We can put it under; it is not a death sentence and can be managed. People who have been infected have lived long and there are lots of therapies.”

    Olokeogun further advised people to know their HIV status by getting tested.

    World AIDS Day, designated every Dec. 1 since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection.

  • World AIDS Day: CSO calls for inclusion of treatment, care in NHIS

    The Civil Society for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (CISHAN), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has called for the inclusion of treatment and care of persons living HIV/AIDS in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

    Coordinator of the organisation in Plateau, Rev. Chis Damcher, Damcher, made the call on Saturday in Jos at a press briefing to commemorate the 2018 World AIDS Day.

    Damcher said if the treatment and care of those living with HIV/AIDS were included in the NHIS, it would go a long way in fighting the spread of the disease.

    He said the step would also help address the issue of donor-fatigue, as according to him, most donors sponsoring treatment and care were already pulling out.

    He pointed out that 85 per cent of HIV responses were from donors, while 15 per cent was from the Federal Government.

    He added that the move would further underscore government’s commitment to the fight against the global scourge.

    Similarly, Dr. Pukup Bupwatda, the Chairman Planning Committee of the 2018 World’s Aids Day in the state said theme of this year’s event “Know Your Status’’ was appropriate.

    Read Also: Reflections on World AIDS Day 2018

    He said the fight could not be won without people knowing their status, by first going for voluntary test.

    Dr. Kunden Kamshak, the Commissioner of Health disclosed that Plateau’s HIV prevalence rate was 5.9 per cent based on the 2014 survey by the Federal Ministry of Health.

    He also revealed that based on the state’s data analysis of HIV/AIDS services in 2017 and the first semester of 2018, there had been a decline.

    Kamshak disclosed that in 2017, 50,573 males and 64,609 females were tested, with 2,512 males and 4,649 females tested positive.

    He said in the first semester of 2018, out of 75,929 males and 83, 445 females tested, 1,047 males and 2,252 females were positive.

    He said the state would soon commence an HIV/AIDS Index Testing, where health workers would go into the communities to test people, in a bid to achieve the 90 per cent “Know Your Status’’ campaign.

    He thanked the donors and other partners for their collaboration in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the state, describing the disease as a public health concern.

     

    NAN

  • 360,000 adolescents expected to die of AIDS by 2030 -UNICEF

    Some 360,000 adolescents are expected to die of AIDS by 2030 if investment in HIV prevention is not ramped up, according to a UNICEF report released on Thursday.

    The figures show the world is “off track’’ in its goal to end AIDS among children by 2030, UNICEF’s executive director, Henrietta Fore, said.

    Projections show there will be a decline in the number of children and young people infected with HIV and dying from AIDS-related causes.

    But the UN children’s fund warned progress is notably slower among adolescents – defined by the UN as those between ages 10 and 19.

    For example, AIDS-related deaths are projected to decrease by 57 per cent among children below the age of 14 by 2030, compared with 35 per cent among those aged 15 to 19 years.

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    “Programmes to prevent HIV transmission from mothers to babies are paying off but haven’t gone far enough.

    “Programmes to treat the virus and prevent it from spreading among older children are nowhere near where they should be,’’ Fore said.

    The report blames slow progress in preventing HIV among young children, along with a failure to address structural and behavioural drivers of the epidemic.

    For example, many young people do not know they have HIV, and those who do often fail to stick to their treatment plans.

    UNICEF is pushing for more family-centred testing and diagnostic technologies, as well as targeted outreach programmes and a greater use of digital platforms to improve knowledge of HIV among adolescents.

  • 2019: INEC calls for addressing barriers to women participation

    …. Nigeria should adopt the Senegal model, says Hon. Dukku

    The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has called on all political stakeholders to address barriers to political participation of women in the country.

    Yakubu posited that Nigeria still ranks lowest amongst the countries with women participation in electoral process.

    This is as Chairman, House Committee on Electoral and Political Matter, Hon. Aishatu Jubril Dukku advised Nigeria to adopt the Senegal model where the deputy to a candidate in any elective position comes from the opposite sex, as a way of addressing women participation in politics.

    Speaking at the Workshop on INEC’s role in enhancing women participation in the electoral process: Creating synergy amongst women politicians, scholars and activities, the duo argued that women are still largely absent from national and local decision-making process and face enormous exclusionary mechanisms that have become serious barriers to participation.

    According to Yakubu, “Strengthening woman’s right, addressing barriers to political participation and expanding civic spaces are thus critical to the Deeping democracy.

    “Although women constitute 49% of Nigeria voting population, the nation average in female representation stands at 6.7% in contrast to the global average of 22.5% in 2018. This is one of the lowest amongst the countries in the ECOWAS region, especially when compared to Ghana (10.7%) and Togo (17.6%).

    In 2015, eight female senators, twenty House of Representatives members and six female Deputy Governors who had joint tickets with male gubernatorial candidates were elected. Similarly, only one female contested for the office of the president while four presidential candidates had females as their Vice.

    “Global statistics for gender parity indicate that in 2015, out of 188 countries, Nigeria was 152nd in the human Development index on Gender inequality and 118nd countries in 2017. Thus, female representation remains low in our national life, and we need to take urgent measures to improve this profile especially in view of UN’s s Sustainable Development Goals(SDG5 in particular). From the foregoing, a lot needs to be done by all stakeholders to ensure more practical, effective, sustained and inclusive programme of action designed at Deeping the participation of women in our political and electoral processes are designed. This, I gather, is one of the key objectives of this workshop and I urge you all to, at the end of these two days, to develop a clear programme to this effect.”

    Hence, the INEC boss said that the “key objectives of this conference is also to explore ways of creating bridges between women politicians, scholars and activists so that synergies can develop in our collective effort to expand inclusivity by deepening the participation of women in the electoral process. Such conversations within the female community of voters are of crucial significance in expanding.”

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    He further added that “Inclusivity. Forms for sharing experience and resources can be established, research and policy briefs in the academia can be leveraged ob by both female politicians and civil society activists, and the practical experiences of politicians and activist could provide significant insights into political behavior for academic research. Such linkages are all crucial in expanding inclusivity and participation.”

    He also assured the gathering that “the commission will continue to engage with critical stakeholder at various levels to secure support to incorporate gender issues into the electoral process in Nigeria. As stakeholders, we share the responsibility to build a gender balanced democracy for the Nigeria of today and of the future. I wish you fruitful deliberations.”

    Hon. Dakku on her part noted that only the men cannot adequately represent the interest of the women.

    As a way to address the situation, she said Nigeria should adopt the Senegal model.

    She also want the women to boycott future elections if the electoral umpire, political parties and stakeholders in elections fail to implement the gender policies in future  elections

    “One can also argue that men cannot adequately represent women’s interests, needs and concerns in the legislature. There are substantive women’s issues such as child and maternal health, HIV/AIDS, woman’s trafficking, child upbringing amongst others that require women perspectives and orientation towards addressing them. The number of women in the legislative house can determine the extent to which women’s issues will attract the attention of policy- makers.

    “Now going forward, as a way of finding solutions to this imbalance as relates to women participation in electoral process, political parties in Nigeria should adopt the Senegal model where the deputy to a candidate in any elective position comes from the opposite sex. Today, five (5) out of the top fifteen (15) countries with the highest  number of female representation are African, namely: Rwanda (64 percent), Senegal (42.7 percent), South Africa (41.7 percent),

    “Women need to organize themselves, continually educate and create awareness of the importance of voting more women in to political office and leadership position. Nigerian women need to be aggressive in pressing for the implementation of the three important Gender policies in all electoral process in future (Nigerian Gender policy, political parties Gender Policies and INEC Gender Policy).

    “It is not going to be out of place to suggest that women boycott future elections if the electoral umpire, political parties and stakeholders in elections fail to implement these three policies in future  elections.”

    Also, Ms. Comfort Lamptey, UN Women representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS said the challenge should be how to scale up women participation using the INEC gender policy and other instruments.

  • Eight deadliest diseases in Nigeria

    We have gotten accustomed to statements like “the end time is near, nations will be against nations, all manner of sicknesses will plague the land and more”. Coincidentally, as a nation, we have had to battle with critical and life threatening diseases that has stolen the limelight of other lesser diseases that are also killer beings.

    In the year 2015, we had the case of Ebola that placed the fear on the foreheads of Nigerians and other West African countries. It surely wasn’t easy to contain such disease but it was reduced yet it is raising its ugly head in moments of opportunities.

    In the year 2016, we had the case of Lassa fever that seemed to make Nigerians pick the option of keeping their environment neat than allowing rodents visit their foodstuffs.

    The truth still remains that there are several lesser known diseases yet to come to limelight that are wiping lives on daily basis.

    1. Malaria

    Malaria is a major health problem mostly in Africa where thirty countries in Sub-Saharan Africa account for 90% of global malaria deaths. It is also important to note that Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, and Uganda account for nearly 50% of the global malaria deaths. It is estimated that up to 100 million cases of malaria resulting in over 300,000 deaths in Nigeria every year. 97% of Nigeria’s population are exposed to the risk of having malaria and the remaining 3% live on the malaria free highlands in Nigeria.

    Sadly, the “ordinary Malaria you know is the ultimate killer of all times with millions of deaths in its portfolio”. This mosquito transmitted disease causes symptoms that generally start off as a general feeling of un-wellness (malaise) and later progressing to fever and headache, which in severe cases can end up with coma or death.

    Although, research has proven that the proponent of this slow poison is dirty environment and stagnant waters in gutters and drainages.

    To curb the cases of malaria, there are different seminars to educate the masses on the symptoms, prevention and causes measures, issuing of free mosquito nets and proper adherence to sanitation days.

    2. Perinatal Conditions

    As happy as the outcome of childbirth is, some people come out with health challenges while some are free from the health challenges

    Perinatal conditions are events occurring around the time of childbirth. There is no doubt that childbirth can be a very magical moment mostly cherished between young parents and a newborn.

    However, out of over half a million pregnancy-related deaths worldwide, it may interest you to know that there are over 40,000 of those occurring in Nigeria and some sources including official data from National Population Commission (NPC) have suggested that over 140 people die every day from pregnancy-related conditions in Nigeria alone making Nigeria the second country with the highest maternal mortality rate (after India) and the highest in Africa. This is a substantial proportion when viewed from a global standpoint. It has been established that 70 percent of pregnancy-related deaths in Nigeria are as a result of 4 conditions: haemorrhage, sepsis, eclampsia and complications of abortion and can easily be prevented.

    3.Cerebrovascular Disease/Accident (Stroke)

    Cerebrovascular disease may sound more technical. It is still the same as stroke which occurs when there is a loss of blood supply to a part of the brain which could either result from blockage or rupture of a blood vessel commonly known as Ischaemic or Haemorrhagic stroke respectively.

    If blood flow is interrupted, for longer than a few minutes, the brain cells begin to suffer from irreparable damage which could result in permanent damage.

    4. Diarrhoeal Diseases

    Diarrhoeal disease is a very common cause of death most especially in third world countries while it is the second most common cause of deaths in children less than 1-year-old worldwide. According to the latest WHO data deaths caused by diarrhoeal diseases in Nigeria reached 173,878 or 10.19% of total deaths and the age adjusted Death Rate is 101.48 per 100,000 of the population. This data ranks Nigeria as the 19th country in the world.
    Deadliest Diseases

    5. Respiratory Tract Infection/Pneumonia

    Respiratory tract infection including pneumonia constituted the second leading cause of death in Nigeria. There are two major types of lower respiratory infections: bronchitis and pneumonia. Some of the easily recognizable symptoms of these infections include a runny nose and sneezing, headache, and sore throat. Symptoms may include fever in more severe cases like pneumonia. In most developing countries, these diseases can easily be lethal unlike in developed nations.

    6. Measles

    Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease affecting up to 90% of people sharing a living space with an infected person. Across the globe, measles kills 22 people every hour or about 197,000 people every year; remaining a leading cause of death among children most especially the under fives.

    Despite the availability of vaccine, the spread of measles is fuelled by poverty, lack of access to medicine and lack of education though there has been a drastic fall in the cases of measles by up to 74% within the last 15 years, the disease stills claims thousands of lives.

    7. Tuberculosis (TB)

    The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one-third of the world’s 7 billion population is currently infected with TB and that someone in the world is getting newly infected with TB every second that passes more of which happens again in Sub-Saharan Africa.
    However, the good news is that being infected does not mean that the disease is going to manifest as the individual to an obvious state like other debilitating illness or condition that suppress the immunity like HIV/AIDS, malnutrition and some other chronic (long-standing diseases) like poorly managed diabetes. The bitter truth is that TB is next to HIV/AIDS when it comes to number of deaths caused. Back in 2012, there were around 1.3 million TB-related deaths worldwide most of which occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and other developing countries.

    8. HIV/AIDS

    HIV/AIDS was first reported in the 1980s and the fact remains that since then, AIDS has caused over 30 million deaths. This is more than the population of Gabon, Botswana, Gambia, Qatar, Jamaica, New Zealand, Ireland, Norway and Denmark put together. Though its mortality rate has reduced because of education and anti-viral medications used to combat it, it still kills millions of people year on year.

    According to UNAIDS, In 2012, there were 35.3 million people living with HIV and since the start of the epidemic, around 75 million [63 million–89 million] have become infected with HIV. In 2012, 1.6 million people died from AIDS-related causes worldwide; over 1 million deaths occur in Africa on a yearly bases and Nigeria recorded 239,700 deaths in the same year. This is far more than every single Ebola outbreak in history added together.

    In as much as the media doesn’t equalize the treatment given to all ailments in communicating its effect and symptoms, there are other lesser diseases that surely kill faster.” The smaller, the mightier”.

    To this end, it is advisable to always go for checkups every 3 month, likewise reporting oneself to the hospital in cases of confusing symptoms as well as sick moments.

  • HIV/AIDS: UNICEF task media on preventive advocacy

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called on media executives to scale up public enlightenment on the growing rate of HIV/AIDS among adolescents in Nigeria.

    Mr Rabiu Musa, the Communication Officer of UNICEF, Kaduna Field Office, made the call on Wednesday in Keffi at a meeting with some media executives in Keffi, Nasarawa State.

    Musa said the fund was alarmed with the high prevalent rate of HIV/AIDS among adolescents in Nigeria and underscored the need for journalists to raise public awareness towards combating the menace.

    He said UNICEF was partnering with the National Orientation Agency, State Governments, media, traditional rulers, religious leaders, healthcare experts and civil society organisations, among others, to enlighten youths on the dangers of the scourge.

    He said the collaboration was focused on the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) and HIV/AIDs in order to tackle the spread of the scourge in the country.

    According to him, the aimed of the meeting was to provide knowledge/orientation to media executives on PMTCT, AYP and HIV/AIDs situation so as to tackle the menace in the country.

    “The aim is also to review and document programme of the media and organisations in the state in supporting the dissemination of PMTCT, AYP/HIV and AIDS messages.

    “To leverage airtime and produce links for dissemination of PMTCT, AYP/HIV and AIDS messages. And also to develop media plans by the participating media houses for implementation,“ he said.

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    The official therefore enjoined the participants to appreciate the magnitude of and map out strategies on how to address the challenges on PMTCT, and Adolescent and Young Persons (AYP) in the society.

    Besides, Musa called on the media to upscale to educate the public on the dangers of the scourge considering its negative effect to societal development.

    He restated the commitment of UNICEF to continue to partner the state and other organisations in order to tackle the scourge in the country.

    “We want to work towards addressing HIV/AIDS in Nasarawa State as the state that is one of the growing states in terms of HIV/AIDs,” he said.

    Alhaji Galadima Soba, the Kaduna State Director of NOA, urged the participants to develop a good media plan for implementation and use of existing programmes for effective dissemination of PMTCT, AYP, HIV and AIDS messages worldwide.

    Soba, who was represented by the state’s Deputy Director, Human Resources and Finance, Malam Hamza Audu, called for more systematic and improved packaging of the various messages in more effective ways on awareness creation of PMTCT, AYP, HIV and AIDS.

    “I am optimistic that with the right attitude and inputs of the calibre of the participants here-present to develop a good media plan for implementation and use of existing programmes for effective dissemination of PMTCT, AYP, HIV and AIDS messages worldwide,” he said.

    The meeting will undertake an overview of HIV/AIDS prevalence in Nasarawa State, share experiences from Kaduna State and adopt action plans for increased enlightenment, among others.

    NAN.

  • Don’t discriminate against workers living with HIV/AIDS – NACA

    The National Agency for the Control of AIDS ( NACA ) has cautioned employers of labour in the country not to discriminate against their employees with HIV.

    Dr Sani Aliyu, the Director-General, gave the advice in a statement issued by the Head, Public Relations and Protocol of the agency, Mrs Toyin Aderibigbe, in Abuja on Monday.

    The DG said that cases of employment-related stigma and discrimination remained a major challenge to ending AIDS epidemic by 2030.

    The statement quoted Aliyu as saying: “The pandemic of HIV/AIDS has become one of the most critical workplace issues in our time.

    “The unequal treatment of workers based on their HIV status in the workplace is a clear breach of their right to gainful employment.

    “People living with HIV/AIDS have a fundamental right to work just like everybody else, stigma and discrimination are potent threats to this right, and undermine opportunities for people to obtain decent employment.”

    Aliyu said that the agency would continue to collaborate with relevant agencies and organisations to achieve the goal of eliminating stigma and discrimination in workplaces.

    “The continuous engagement of relevant stakeholders has led to strengthen capacity for compliance and effective implementation of HIV workplace policies.

    “It has also built capacities on available options for addressing discrimination including redress, and made available legal services for survivors of human rights violations,” he said.

    The DG added that the agencies and organisations involved in the advocacy included the International Labour Organisation, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment among others.

    He noted that the collaboration would ensure that employers comply with the provisions of the National Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS, and the National HIV/AIDS Anti-Discrimination Act.

    We recall that the HIV and AIDS (Anti-Discrimination) Bill was signed into law in 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The Act makes it illegal to discriminate against people because of their HIV status.

    It also prohibits any employer, individual or organisation from requiring a person to take HIV test as a precondition for employment.

    NAN