Rev. Fr. Uchechukwu Obodoechina, executive secretary and chief executive officer of the organization, said this at the official launch of the Accelerated Control of HIV, epidemic and sustainable solution project (Access project) in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State.
He added that the Access project aims to contact all HIV-positive individuals in order to provide them with free diagnosis and treatment.
Obodoechina disclosed further that his group is mandated by the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Control and prevention will carry out the programs for five years in the reviewed states.
He stated, “We have a grant from the American government and its people to obtain services in Abia State and other parts of South East Nigeria with the goal of achieving HIV/AIDS epidemic control, and today we are in Abia collaborating with the state and other sectors to determine how we can join them in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
“Both the government of Nigeria and the government of Abia State are responsible for ensuring the health of their population. That’s what government is all about.
“The purpose of government is to do for the people what they cannot accomplish for themselves. This constitutes the social contract.
The head of the 4GATES project in Abia State, Dr. Amana Effiong, stated that the project is aimed at HIV/AIDS patients in some areas of the state who were not reached by the organization’s prior effort.
He asserted that while several states in the South East have gained control of the HIV epidemic, Abia State is yet to catch up due to historical causes.
According to him, Abia is one of the states with the largest number of HIV-positive individuals who do not have access to treatment. We are tasked with locating as many individuals as possible and placing them on antiretroviral therapy.
“Children and adults in particular hard-to-reach districts of Abia North Senatorial district were among the most severely affected populations.
“We are attempting to get out to them and place them on treatment so that they might live a normal life by employing various ways. This project will also reduce the spread of HIV to other people.
Abia State is not among the Nigerian states that have achieved epidemic control and treatment.
“Caritas Nigeria has been tasked with achieving treatment saturation within the state. We have made great progress in the past year and a half, but there is still much work to be done.”
Dr. John Okpanachi Oko, chief of the Access projects team, cited stigma against persons living with HIV/AIDS as the only obstacle the organization experienced in her past programs in the state.
He stated, “What we are doing is launching the new HIV prevention project beginning with the state of Abia.
It is a five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that will be implemented in the states of Abia, Enugu, and Imo. It is an extensive HIV prevention and treatment initiative.
(Source: punchng.com)
