The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PLWHA

  • Fed Govt praised on commitment to PLWHA

    It sends a message of hope to people living with HIV/AIDS or  PLWHA in Abuja and other parts of the country.

    Since the 1980s when the epidemic named HIV/AIDS arrived the shores of Nigeria, it has wrecked lived and gulped huge amounts of money and other resources while scientists across the world have been working tirelessly to find a curAe.

    Concerned about Nigeria’s position as the country with the third largest infected population (about 3.2 million) of PLWHAs, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNAIDS had ratcheted  up efforts to ease the burden of taking  proper care of those already infected with the virus

    That informed their joint involvement in the celebratory mood recently over the Federal Government’s new commitment to use domestic funds to provide antiretroviral drugs to an additional 50,000 people living with HIV each year.

    “We are encouraged by the enthusiasm that the Federal Government is showing towards putting more of its own financial resources to the HIV response. This is one sure way of helping Nigeria to end AIDS by 2030,” said the Director General of NACA, Dr Sani Aliyu.

    “UNAIDS is thrilled by the new momentum and firm commitments that the Government of Nigeria is bringing to its HIV response. We are eager to support the process of putting more people living with HIV in Nigeria on treatment,” said the UNAIDS Country Director for Nigeria, Dr Erasmus Morah who recently resumed in Nigeria after serving in some eleven countries.

    It is all more heartwarming and indicative of progress when one notes that now, a new national HIV survey, a Trust Fund and support for local manufacture of ARVs in pipeline.

    For NACA, WHO and UNAIDS as well as a huge number of HIV-positive Nigerian citizens, including those living in Abuja, it is a welcome development that instead of complete dependence on foreign donors’ assistance, the Federal Government has now committed itself to using domestic funds to provide antiretroviral drugs to an additional 50,000 people living with HIV each year.

    Nigeria’s commitment was announced in a speech by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the successfully concluded high-level side event convened by the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, in collaboration with UNAIDS, during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA. The side event was meant to accelerate action and get countries on the Fast Track to end AIDS by 2030.

    “We recognise the impact of the global financing environment and the need for shared responsibility in order to end AIDS in Nigeria by 2030,” said President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement read on his behalf by the Director General of NACA, Dr Sani Aliyu.

    “Thus, we have committed to increased domestic resourcing of the AIDS response. In the light of this, the Government of Nigeria is committed to maintain the current 60,000 plus clients on life saving medicines and an additional 50,000 new clients per year,” President Buhari said. He announced that Nigeria had already put more than one million people living with HIV on treatment.

    Other important new commitments announced by President Buhari included working with partners to conduct a national population-based HIV survey to gather new evidence to guide Nigeria’s response, a plan to establish a private-sector funded AIDS Trust Fund as well as securing of HIV funding commitments from the States. President Buhari also expressed commitment to offering an enabling environment for the local manufacture of antiretroviral drugs in support of Nigeria’s policy to immediately put any person who tests positive for HIV on treatment.

    While Matthias Adamu, an activist for HIV-positive persons describes the development as part of a much-needed change that Nigeria had been waiting for, Charles-Martin Jjuuko, a Communications and Global Outreach Officer at UNAIDS in Abuja emphatically asserts that such joy and the new ray of ray of hope is really justifiable when past and current circumstances are duly considered.

  • Dickson abandoned HIV/AIDS patients – APC

    Dickson abandoned HIV/AIDS patients – APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), Bayelsa State, on Tuesday lamented that the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has abandoned People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the state

    The party in a statement issued by the Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organisation (SICO), the campaign outfit of APC’s governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, raised the alarm on the poor state of welfare of the PLWHA.

    The statement was issued as part of activities to mark World AIDS Day.

    The statement signed by SICO’s Director, Media and Publicity, Chief Nathan Egba, said the World AIDS Day provides an opportunity to draw attention to the HIV/AIDS scourge around the world.

    Egba said it was worrisome that Dickson’s administration stripped “these people” the benefits they enjoyed under the previous governments of DSP Alamieyeseigha, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Timipre Sylva.

    He said: “The All Progressives Congress will like to identify with these set of people to help encourage them to live a meaningful life, as we believe they all deserve our love and care.

    “The Sylva-Igiri Campaign Organisation however, notes with dismay the fact that the Government of Seriake Dickson willfully abandoned the PLWA, by stopping their monthly stipends and supply of anti-retroviral drugs just as he refused to fund any HIV campaigns since 2012.

    “During the tenure of Chief Timipre Sylva, the gubernatorial candidate of the APC, as Governor, the People Living With HIV/AIDS enjoyed the best of support from government.

    “Then Governor Sylva, did not only give monthly stipends, but provided free Anti-Retroviral drugs for their medical maintenance with full support to the state SACA.”

    Egba said the governorship and deputy-governorship candidates of the APC in the Saturday’s election, when elected would restore all the statutory benefits the PLWA had been denied by Dickson.

     

  • Memorable moment with PLWHA

    They got what they really need: love and care. The wife of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Hajiya Aisha Mohammed provided that for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) as well as other needy perons in Abuja.

    She also appealed to affluent Nigerians to donate generously to support the weak and ailing people in the FCT.

    Mrs Mohammed made the appeal while distributing gifts to people living with HIV and the less privilege at her life camp residence.

    She noted that most of the victims of the HIV virus did not know how they contacted the virus, while some got it through child birth due to the ignorance of their parents.

    According to her, some were infested by the virus through the use of unhygienic instruments in the hospitals and others got it through unprotected sexual intercourse, adding that members of public should avoid all forms of discrimination against the victims.

    She said, “The task of caring, supporting and assisting those living with this virus and the less privileged in the society must not be left for government alone. It should be a collective efforts from both the rich and the privilege in our society to assist these category of people.”

    The FCT Minister’s wife called on traditional rulers and religious leaders to join in the campaign of sensitizing members of the public, on the need to avoid multiple sex partners and other vices that could expose them to contacting the virus.

    In her welcome address, the programme Director of Al-Muhibbah foundation, Hajiya Ladi Ibrahim, said the organization has brought succour to several less privilege in our society.

    She disclosed that the foundation has provided several skills for woman under its poverty alleviation programme in the FCT, explaining that the women who acquired skills were provided with kits to enhance what they acquired.

    One of the persons living with HIV virus, Miss Gloria Asuquo commended the FCT minister’s wife for the bold step taking in putting smiles on the faces of those suffering from the virus in the FCT.

    She said that the gesture, has shown that Hajiya Aisha Mohammed is a true emancipator of the down trodden in Nigeria.

    Among the items distributed to the people included several bags of rice, cartoons of beverages, detergent and disinfectant.

  • Benue feeds the weak

    Benue feeds the weak

    .PLWHA get food, drugs, counsel

    How do you care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)? Give them their prescribed drugs and wave them off?

    The Benue State government gives them the required medications, all all right, but does not leave it there. It provides food also, especially for those who are financially weak to fend for themselves. The government equally provides counsel, a service that has been found to be just as important as food and drugs.

    The Benue State Aids Control Agency (BENSACA) which is providing the service believes that good food provides the PLWHA with necessary nutrition which in turn boosts the efficacy of their drugs and their health.

    BENSACA donated various items of foodstuff to over 200 of the PLWHA in Makurdi, the state capital.

    The food items included rice and beans, among others. Free retro-viral drugs and counseling services were also offered throughout the state.

    But the state government is not working alone. Its efforts are boosted by the federal government, non-governmental organisations (NGO) and faith-based outfits. Inputs are equally coming from community-based organisations (CBOs).

    The Executive Secretary, Benue State Aids Control Agency (BENSACA) Mrs. Grace Ashi Wende said giving out food to People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIV) became necessary because the agency found out that some of them, especially women, had children to look after, while others were widows and orphans.

    She said many of them were not well fed because they were poor, which has been adversely affecting their medication.

    Mrs. Wende stated that so far the number of registered PLWHIV stood at 4800 as registered support groups (SG) have grown from 54 between 2008 and 2013 to 120.

    She advised the beneficiaries of the food programme not to sell the items on the way but eat them to stay healthy.

    She commended Governor Gabriel Suswam’s administration and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the special intervention food programme for the PLWHA in the state.

     

  • ‘There is hope for PLWHA’

    The Chairman, Local Organising Committee, Hope for AIDS International, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Bishop Adeyeye Oguntunwase, has stated there is hope for People Living With HIV and AIDS(PLWHA).

    Adeyeye spoke in Lagos during a summit organised by the NGO in partnership with World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) in Toronto and U.K.

    The theme of the summit was ‘take action.’

    He enjoined individuals to show love to PLWHA, saying “we should be after the prevention of the disease and rendering help to those who are already affected.”

    Dr Sarah Macharia, who represented WACC, said that the future is bright for PLWHA.

  • Why PLWHA don’t get TB treatment

    Why PLWHA don’t get TB treatment

    Why have people Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) not been accessing tuberculosis treatment at Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) centres?

    It is because they do not want their identities revealed, says a clinician, Dr Dan Onwujekwe, of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR).

    He said PLWHA were not using the DOTS centre, which is the global standard for tuberculosis treatment because of the stigma associated with their status. He enjoined the centres to come up with new methods of managing their patients to achieve impressive treatment results.

    According to him, self stigma, whereby HIV/TB co-infected patients fear loss of confidentiality of their HIV status in centres near their homes; rejection of referred HIV/TB patients due to fear of HIV infection and drugs out of stock; coupled with increasing numbers returned to NIMR ART site demanding other options all amount to factors and challenges of the success of DOTS at the treatment centre.Hence, NIMR was permitted to use innovative approaches to implement DOTS, whereby a weekly monitoring was devised: “and the outcome of the implementation study showed that a weekly DOTS can achieve high cure and treatment rates to a daily DOTS.

    “It is imperative that National TB control programs that are challenged with a high burden should adopt innovative ways to reach more patients with effective treatment. As a well managed once a week health worker observation of treatment, backed by strong laboratory component can produce cure rates as high as DOTS. This may be a useful way to improve towards achieving the Stop TB targets of halving Nigeria’s TB burden by 2015,” he stated.

    Dr Onwujekwe said other reasons why DOTS  was worked on to once a week health worker observed treatment approach was because, “most patients cannot afford daily cost of transportation to clinic; cure rate for smear-positive TB of 96.9 per cent and treatment success rate f 75 per cent compare favorably with those reported from other treatment sites in Nigeria and settings where daily DOTS is supposedly the standard practice.

    “Treatment success rates for HIV co-infected patients was 69 per cent. This compares favorably with reports of 56 per cent obtained in similar clinics in South Africa.”

    Director General, NIMR, Prof Innocent Ujah, said NIMR serves as a reference Centre for the training and quality assurance of staff and Laboratory tests for the TB Laboratory Network, and in doing so, provides specialized diagnostic strain identification and resistance testing.

    ”NIMR also conducts training programmes in specialized areas of TB and TB/HIV diagnosis and management. It is important to state that NIMR provided the laboratory support and back up services for the first ever Nigerian National Survey on Multi drug resistance TB as well as the first national survey of the prevalence of TB in Nigeria.

    “NIMR acts as the National TB Reference Laboratory and currently, it is being upgraded to bio-safety level 3 Laboratory (BSL-3), courtesy of FHI360. NIMR has high level man power and infrastructure capacities to conduct research, provide clinical and laboratory services to patients. Our finding showed that at HIV clinic, 27 per cent of PLWHA and accessing anti retroviral treatment (ARV) in our clinic have TB

    “Due to effective counseling by our committed staff, the default rate among TB patients has been reduced from 22 per cent to six per cent. Our target is zero default rate and I am sure that we can achieve the target.

    “TB needs to be prevented and we call on all stakeholders to redouble all effort to bring the prevalence of TB in Nigeria to an acceptable level. Unfortunately, the dangerous triad of poverty, ignorance and illiteracy will be our greatest challenge. Therefore, we can stop TB in our life time if we improve the socio-economic circumstances of our people, by reducing poverty through income generation, ignorance and illiteracy through formal education, sustained awareness creation and childhood immunization of new born babies with BCG,” stated Prof Ujah.