D-G Laments Aids Scourge In C’River

The Director-General of the Cross River State Agency for the
Control of HIV/AIDS (SACA), Mrs Irene Aniyom, says that 56,350 persons in the
state are currently living with the HIV virus.

Aniyom made the disclosure in an interview with our correspondent
on Tuesday in Calabar.

“Today in the state, we have 56,350 people living with the
virus; we have to update it on a regular basis since 2005,” she said.

According to her, the infected persons are receiving
anti-retroviral drugs at different centres in the state adding that SACA had
formed a group known as “Cross River Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS,’’
to monitor the infected persons.

“And in this network, we have 80 support groups of people
living with the virus, with a minimum of 25 persons in each group,’’ she
stressed.

Aniyom noted  that
many people were now aware of the diseases, due to the activities of SACA and
other groups involved in the campaign against its spread.

“If you go to various HIV testing and counselling centres
across the state, you will find many people coming out to know their status,’’
she said.

The director-general said that SACA had also established
Local Action Committees on Control of HIV/AIDS (LACA) in each of the 18 Local
Government Areas in the state, headed by the chairmen of the councils.

“This is because we found out that the disease spreads
faster in rural areas, ‘’ Aniyom said.

She said that the monitoring and evaluation unit of the
agency conducted regular monitoring of the activities of LACA and collated data
on their activities.

“Also, chairmen of the Local Government Areas pay N200,000
to their LACA every month to facilitate their activities.

“While on our part we give them N3,000 monthly to fuel to
facilitate mobility in their campaigns,’’ she said.

She said that the agency had also identified faith-based
organisations to assist SACA in carrying out campaigns in churches and mosques
in the state, just as SACA is also collaborating with the state’s Ministry of
Education to carry out HIV/AIDS campaigns in schools.

“It is on record that Cross River was the first state in
Nigeria to develop “Family Life HIV/AIDS Curriculum’’ in every school and
students write examination on the subject.

“So in Cross River today, pupils and students in both
primary and secondary schools discuss HIV/AIDS comfortably. And this has helped
in reducing the spread of the virus,’’ she said.