By Saidu Adamu
Dr Temitope Ilori, Director General of National Agency for the Control AIDS (NACA) has assured Nigerians that HIV drugs are adequately available in all hospitals in Nigeria.
Ilori made the declaration on Wednesday at the Inauguration of the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMCT) and Peadratic HIV/AIDS Accelerated Committee in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital.
She said that there was a serious commitment by the Federal Government through the ministry of Budget and National Planning to enhance budgetary provision for HIV/AIDS Control to ensure the availability of adequate drugs and testing kits.
She gave the assurance that the government would not fail in its responsibility to reduce the prevalence of the disease to the barest minimum as well as to sustain the fight to ensure that Nigeria is HIV-free.
The Director General urged the committee to ensure that Taraba becomes HIV-free in the nearest future.
She added that mother to child transmission is another common source of spreading the pandemic.
According to her, the agency is working hard in collaboration with different partners to ensure the campaign and response to the pandemic got to all nooks and crannies in Nigeria.
She also sought for the collective efforts by all stakeholders in the industry to ensure the eradication of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.
Ilori said that the inclusion of interfaith groups in the just inaugurated committee was to ensure sensitisation of women towards access to testing during antenatal and postnatal periods.
She commended Taraba State for its sustained response towards correcting the narratives as the highest state with HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the North East.
Earlier, Dr Bodiya Boma, Commissioner for Health in Taraba said that the state was working assiduously to reduce its prevalence rate from 2.9 per cent to a more insignificant rate.
Boma said that the present administration in the state had given its priority to health after security.
He gave the assurance that funding of the PMCT by Gov Agbu Kefas of Taraba would lead to the eradication of the pandemic come 2030.
Also speaking at the event, Pharm Oliver Wubon, Chairman, Board of Taraba AIDS Control Agency (TACA) commended NACA for the initiative.
Wubon assured that Gov. Kefas was ready to source for resources from any where to funds HIV/AIDS projects.
He challenged the committee members to ensure that no child was born with HIV again in the state. (vitalnewsngr.com)
