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Women Demand Fair Deal For HIV/AIDS Carriers

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Among possible
incidences on HIV/AIDS that occurred in Nigeria in 2016, one has the potency to stick to the mind in the fold of a landmark. And this is more in the manner and circumstance it occurred.
The day was Tuesday, November 29, 2016, and the event was the opening ceremony of the 2016 edition of the National HIV/AIDS prevention conference in Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
Just as the Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire mounted the rostrum to give his speech, a group of women carrying placards with various inscriptions barged into the Congress Hall (Hall 4), venue of the event.
Numbering about 40, the women, wearing orange T-shirts upon black skirts and trousers, marched in a single file to the front of the rostrum and lined up facing the minister with their placards, while backing the audience.
Before the over 3,000 participants could fathom what was amiss, a voice obviously cracked by anger, came through the loud speaker explaining the situation.
The voice belonged to Ms Lucy A Enyia, who introduced herself as the National Coordinator of Society for Women and Children Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (SOWCHAN).
Their grievances, she said, had to do with the lack of necessary attention to the plight of PLWHIV in Nigeria, which had led to unwarranted suffering and death of many HIV/AIDS positive persons.
“What actually prompted the protest is the challenges PLWHIV are subjected to in the country … people are suffering, the health budget is very low, and little or nothing is continually being spent on HIV/AIDS by the government.
“African leaders made promises almost 12 years ago that they would increase heath budget to 15 per cent. But up till now, Nigeria has not gotten up to 5 per cent, we are still low, just 4.13 per cent”, she lamented.
She explained further that out of the 4.13 percent, 88% go for salaries, leaving just 12 per cent for sundry health issues.
Enyia, the mother of three continued”, almost all the activities carried out on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria are donor-driven. The donors contribute 75%, while Nigeria contributes only 25%.
“So, we are asking the government to take ownership, it is our right, they have to give us good health as citizens of this country. We need to have access to good health”, she concluded.
In an exclusive interview at the occasion, Prof. Idoko buttressed Enyia’s stance when he stated that about 90% of HIV treatment care and support are provided by donor agencies.
According to him, this has been the major concern of stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS, who have consistently stressed the need for political leaders in the country to invest more money in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support.
While acknowledging that the United States, government and its agencies constitute a greater part of donors to HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, he imagined what the situation would be if the in-coming leadership decides to opt out of donations to Nigeria.
“Donald Trump, U.S President-elect, is just coming. He might decide to cancel all that U.S government is doing on treatment, care and support programmes in Nigeria.
“What do we do at that point? Do we just lament? No! we have money here, there are rich people and rich government. We need to make them put money into HIV programmes”, he said.
Prof. Idoko’s stance is in obvious contradiction of that of his successor at NACA, Dr Sani Aliju, who hinted that in terms of preventing new HIV infections, Nigeria has done 90% of what is required.
“From the perspective of preventing new HIV infections, as a country, we are only 10% away from reaching the magic tipping point.
“However, the speed at which we are reducing new HIV infections needs to accelerate if we must meet our fast track targets by 2020,” the NACA D.G said.
Meanwhile, he acknowledged the fact that all achievements in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria would not have been possible without the commitment of donor agencies such as World Bank, PEPFAR, Global Fund, United Nations and its agencies.
In the face of apparent gradual withdrawal of support by donor agencies, Dr Aliju still relied on recording a break through in HIV/AIDS, treatment, care and support with continued support from donor agencies.
“I implore them all (donor agencies) not to relent in their financial and technical support to HIV prevention programme in Nigeria.
“The sustained and increased investment in HIV prevention is necessary if we must consolidate on the success recorded thus far”, he said.
Explaining the contributions of U.S government in Nigeria’s fight against HIV/AIDS, the Country Director, U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Abuja, Nigeria, Dr Hank Tomlinson said at the conference that the U.S government as at 2003 spent N4 billion in HIV prevention, care and treatment in Nigeria.
Among other contributions, he said currently, PEPFAR alone has provided life-saving ARV theraphy for 700,000 Nigerians This does not include what other donor agencies have done in this wise.
When this is analysed vis-a-vis what the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewale said about over 800,000 Nigerians being on ARV theraphy in Nigeria, the question that readily comes to mind is: how much has the Nigerian government invested in this wise? And this is only in the provision of ARV for the established over 800,000 PLWHIV.
While enumerating and acknowledging the successes recorded in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, and the contributions made by donor agencies, the U.S representative assured that his country will redouble its commitment. He was however emphatic in the fact that such commitment will not be in terms of financial support.
The Minister of Health, who represented President Muhamadu Buhari at the 2016 World AIDS Day, acknowledged that more needs to be done, “If Nigeria must achieve the 90 90 90 of an AIDS free generation by 2030”.
The first step towards this end, he said, is that “the president has personally pledged $10 million to the Global Fund replenishment exercise that took place in Canada”.
He also promised to address “all the bottlenecks” affecting HIV prevention, treatment, care and support in the country.
How effectively and efficiently this can be executed, is, however, what stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria will look up to.
Right now it is no more news that so much have been invested in HIV/AIDS mostly by donor agencies. It is also not news that given the part played by these international donor agencies, the Nigerian government requires relatively little contribution to complement that of the donors towards the ultimate goal of attaining the vision 90 90 90 target.
What, therefore should be of concern to key stakeholders at all levels is having the will to make identifiable contributions. Not just in terms of necessary policy formation, but also in the execution of such policies, which include the 15 per cent of budget commitment to health and what percent should go to HIV/AIDS response.
Among other benefits, this is capable of giving a clearer picture of Nigeria’s investment in HIV, and may encourage the donor to have a rethink in their gradual withdrawal.
Several speakers had made presentations on HIV/AIDS. They included the immediate past Director General (DG) of the National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA), Prof. John Idoko, President of Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS (NEPWHAN), Mr Victor Omosehin, and the current D.G of NACA, Dr Sani Aluju.

 

Sogbeba Dokubo

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Women

The Desire Of Every Woman In Marriage

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A woman needs a man that is honest,  trustworthy,  nice,  loving and financially stable.
There are no two ways about finance in marriage. No matter the level of love, If there is no money,  it is always difficult.


Referring to the Biblical belief in Genesis 3:Your desire  shall be unto you……..
That is one aspect  the woman expects her husband to take care of.
A woman wants a husband that is not lazy,  at least helping to do one or two things.   A man that is educated and intelligent.
She knows that there is a trait that her husband has.  Traits of taking care of people,  giving freely to people and caring for her family.
A woman wants to love a husband that has family interest at heart. A man that spends time with his family,  remembering his family even as he is away from home.
A woman should not antagonise her husband because of one error or the other. No matter the level of offence he may have committed, you still show some love.


According to the Scripture, it is with wisdom that the women builds her home.
It is not as if the woman will not monitor her husband, but to certain limit.  Don’t be a monitoring spirit.  Don’t allow anything to take your joy.
Don’t loose trust in your husband.
The idea of checking your husband’s phone should be discouraged. The more you check your husband and his phone, the more you loose your joy.


The home should not be a battle ground for a woman and man.  A woman should be able to ask herself if the check on her husband will pay her any good.
Draw a line to a point where you checkmate your husband’s activities.
A woman wants a man that will love her and telling her you love her will be all she desires.

Eunice Choko-Kayode

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Women

What Women Want In Yet-To -Be Husbands

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What women want in their yet-to- be husbands matters a lot as far as marriage is concerned.
A woman desires a good fnancial prospect. Interestingly, some modern women place a man’s financial potential as more desirable than they have in the past.
Many decades ago, women ranked it lower on the list. It still comes in after items like love and maturity, but perhaps today’s women realise that a good economic partner is good husband material.
Good health has been an important characteristic for women through the 20th century and remains so these days. One might argue that because we’re living even longer, health plays a huge role in the success of a marriage. Women are anxious to know that their partners are healthy to be able to run the family together.
You discover that in most faith based organisations, would- be couples are mandated to go for medical tests to ascertain their health status as it concerns HIV/AIDS, Genotype and other related ones. This according to stakeholders is to ensure that couples raise healthy families.
Ambition has become less important to women over time, though it still being considered even if women nowadays are thriving in the workforce competing with the male folk. It may be because more women are thriving in the workforce, they want a husband who has earning power but are not looking for him to be the sole provider.
More women want husbands with pleasing disposition. They may not want a man who is always moody. A man who is always cheerful is whom they desire.
Surprisingly, a man’s likes do not rank as high on women’s list of wants as it used to. Until recently, women are more willing to accept a man for who he his, despite the inevitable mood he may be.
Sociability from both men and women rank very high on their marriag material list. And for both sexes, it has been steadily moving up the list for many years. The rise of the “love marriage,” a partnership based on attraction rather than practicalities (like wealth or status) might mean that married couples are more likely to be friends and have mutual circles of friends.
A lot of couples want to associate with others and then socialise. Attending parties of other friends forms part of their marriage requirements.
Women have placed education and intelligence top making it one of their most desirable male traits for decades. This timeline coincides with more and more women receiving college education themselves. Once education becomes important in women’s lives, it is a more attractive trait in potential husbands.
Of course when a woman is educated, she is likely to go for an educated man. When they are gainfully employed, their income boost the family affairs faster.
Today, women are much more attracted to men who are interested in home and family than they ever have been. Men who have desire for their home and children is whom they desire.
After a days job, a man will come home to ensure that his children are comfortable. Because most women today are expecting to be in dual-earner relationships, they want husbands who will be happy and willing to contribute at home. More women today even report that they hope he will take the lead at home.
A woman wants a man who is emotionally stable and mature. Growing big physically is not the issue but maturity in the heart.
Men, too, place a heavy emphasis on a potential wife’s emotional maturity, signaling that it is a key quality for a stable partnership. Women seem to look past appearance to the heart of the matter.
A woman wants a man who is not easily provoked. Dependable character is what some women want in marriage.
Women want husbands that they can count on, and this has not changed in recent years. Yes, women look to their spouses to be lovers and friends, they also want them to be supportive and trustworthy. They want to know that their husbands will be there and remain loyal. Men, too, desire dependable character from their yet-to be wives.
Mutual attraction and love from the first appearance is what they want till they become old.
The highest-rated characteristic women seek from men is mutual attraction and love. Some no longer look for a man who will provide everything, afterall they are also educated and are gainfully employed, they want to be in love.
For some women, even when the man do not provide household needs, the love shown on her is enough. When women had no job prospects and needed to marry, they desired love . The women’s movement has not only helped women pursue careers, it has also given them more choice in love.

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Women

Echoes Of IWD : Need To Invest In Women

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As this year’s Internatinal Women’s Day (IWD) has come and gone, there are calls from different quarters on the need to invest in women so that we can achieve accelerated growth.
It was, indeed, a thing of joy when Rivers Women Unite For Sim, took delivery of large quantities of sanitary towels and some bags of rice provided them for this year’s celebration.
Many young women expressed joy that they got such gesture since some of them have financial problems getting sanitary towels whenever they are on.
Some secondary school students were also lucky to have a share of the benefits. They also got some sanitary towels.
The Rivers State Commissioner for Women Affairs organised a platform to celebrate and honour the women for the remarkable jobs they perform in their homes and society.
Addressing women on the occasion, the Hon. Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr. Roseline Apawari Uranta, noted that women from time immemorial have been great pillars in achieving remarkable heights and stressed that IWD across the globe is pivotal all women for the roles they play in bringing, nurturing and sustaining life.
Dr. Uranta said that IWD, which started in 1911 and celebrated annually on March 8, is a global day that provides women a platform to address economic inclusion, participation in political and public life.
She said the day was set aside to look into lack of access to education for the girl-child, gender-based violence, child marriage, child trafficking, harmful cultural practices as well as other challenges facing women around the globe.
The Hon. Commissioner, who described March 8 as a day to celebrate the socio-economic, cultural and political achievements of women, emphasised that it is a day that offers women the opportunity to reflect on progressive achievements.
Noting that it is an opportunity to call for change, she stressed that it is also an opportunity to celebrate acts of courage and every achievement made by ordinary women who did extraordinary things and are remembered in history.
She noted that the IWD2024 theme:”Invest In Women, Accelerate Progress”, is timely and apt because according to her, to achieve gender equality, we must ensure that the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women do not elude them.
Her words: ” We must see investing in women as a human right issue and consider investing in women as a social tool to eradicate poverty since women are helpmeet in the homes while a handful are breadwinners in their respective families”.
The commissioner urged women to uphold the deliberate act of investing in themselves, be it furthering formal education, developing a new skill as well as learning a trade.
“Shun idleness, always find something positive and productive to do, regardless of your age, social status and financial capabilities”, she said.
In a paper presentation, Dr. Dabota God’swill Jumbo, reiterated that investing in women would attract good and positive dividends to herself and the society at large and noted that it is essential in addressing poverty, hunger and climate change.
The guest speaker said women need more opportunities in elective and appointive positions, hence the need to encourage and support them in politics.
According to her, when you invest in women, they will be able to create safer environment devoid of gender-based violence.
In a goodwill message, the spokesperson, Rivers Women Unite For Sim, Mrs Charity Deemua appreciated the organisers for making it possible for women to gather and celebrate themselves.
She commended those who created a day like March 8 of every year to celebrate women and regretted that the girl-child was seen as a second-class person decades ago.
The former commissioner, Rivers State House of Assembly Commission, described those who taught it wise for women to celebrate as conquerors, tough and strong.
International Association of World Peace Advocates, a world-class organisation with the United Nations, honoured different categories of women.
In Cross River State, 150 women were empowered with about N15m to boost their small and medium scale businesses.
According to stakeholders, the women empowerment is vital in addressing social, economic and political challenges and will make them self-reliant.
An NGO, Association of Professional Women Engineering Technologists (APWET), said it’s aim is to promote professional excellence among engineering personnel, advocating for women and girl-child education.
With what we saw in terms of response to women’s call on issues affecting them from relevant authorities, we are optimistic that the women will do better whenever they are empowered.
If we must kick out cervical, breast and other forms of cancer in women, underage marriage, prostitution, we must invest in women.
There were goodwill messages from National Council for Women Societies (NCWS), International Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA), Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC, Nigeria Association of Female Journalists (NAWOJ), among others.

By: Eunice Choko-Kayode

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