The Project Manager/Executive Secretary of the State Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS, SACA, Dr (Mrs) Uloaku Emma Ukaegbu, has reiterated that all hands must be on deck in the renewed fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS in the state.
The Project Manager of SACA made the statement during the Second Quarter Gender Human Rights/State Response Team meeting held in Umuahia, recently.
Dr (Mrs) Emma Ukaegbu declared that SACA is collaborating with other notable institutions and agencies in a renewed way to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS and Gender-Related violence in the state.
She charged all stakeholders to take the agenda of the meeting seriously.
The resource persons from CARITAS Nigeria, Dr Ikenna Nwankanma, Society For Family Health; State Team Lead, Mrs Nneka Edeh, among several others, during the interactive session, discussed in details cases of human rights infringement and how it impinges on the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Mrs Edeh restated that the Society For Family Health aims to reduce the spread of HIV among key populations who were at higher risk of acquiring HIV due to their lifestyle.
She named the key population to include; men who have sex with men, female sex workers, people in correctional centres and Adolescent girls and young women.
She, however, lamented that the recent increase in human rights abuse of this group is a threat to society and appealed that this class of people should be heard and assisted to snap out from their lifestyle, to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in our clime.
Contributing further on human rights violation, the State Team Lead, CARITAS Nigeria, Dr Charles Okoli, postulated that no human being should be denied access to medical treatment, stressing that respect for human dignity should prevail at all times.
The TB specialist, Dr Okorie Onuka, however, tasked stakeholders to come up with strategies that would help to stop HIV/AIDS prevalence in the state.
In his goodwill message, the State Director of Information, Comrade John Emejor, advocated that the media should not be kept in the dark if the war against the spread of HIV/AIDS and Gender-Related violence must be won in the state.
Further goodwill messages came from representatives from; NACA, Police, NDLEA, Civil Defense, and female lawyers, among several others.
