Relief has come to people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Abia State as the wife of the State Governor, Mrs. Priscilla Otti, offered bags of rice and made cash donations to the group.
Speaking at a meeting held with the Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) and Key Population (KP) group, Abia State chapter, in her country home of Nvosi in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State, Mrs. Otti said that the disease is not a death sentence, hence those affected should declare their status and commence treatment.
According to her, “I am impressed with the progress Abia is making to suppress the spread of the disease, still a lot needs to be done to ensure that we get to a point where no one would be able to get infected again.”
“Part of our efforts in this administration is to ensure that every group in Abia State gets the necessary support they deserve from the government,” Mrs. Otti said.
“I have also resolved to partner with relevant stakeholders in the state to ensure that the law against discrimination and stigmatisation of people living with HIV/AIDS is domesticated in Abia State,” Mrs. Otti added.
However, the Governor’s wife pleaded with women and youths engaged in commercial sex work to desist. She promised to empower the women through skills acquisition as a way to discourage them from engaging in commercial sex work.
Earlier, the Director General, Abia State Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr. Uloaku Emma, said that currently 46,788 persons are receiving treatment from the agency.
Dr. Uloaku said that the agency’s goal is to get to the point where no new person is infected with the disease in Abia State. She called for all hands to be on deck to end discrimination and stigmatisation of people living with HIV as a way to suppress the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, the National Secretary of NEPWHAN, Mr. Joseph Anosike, and Coordinator, Key Population Group, Mr. Agbai Okali, expressed gratitude to Mrs. Otti for her support and care, adding that providing them employment will go a long way to suppress the spread of the disease even as they continue in their advocacy and sensitization to avoid further spread of the disease.
In their remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, represented by the Director of Public Health, Dr. Agomuo Princess, and her Women Affairs counterpart, Dr. Maureen Aghukwa, said that Governor Alex Otti’s efforts are to see that health indices of Abians are improving.
The key takeaway here is to scale up sensitization to end discrimination and stigmatisation.
At the Ministry of Health, our target is to get at least 95% of people living with HIV into treatment, and once this is achieved, transmission of HIV will stop.
One of the beneficiaries, Joy Ojima, thanked the wife of the Abia Governor for her support but maintained that they want an end to discrimination and stigmatisation.
