Rivers
Govt Moves To Tackle HIV/AIDS
The Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board says it would fashion an integrated approach to make a difference in tackling HIV/AIDS in the state.
Executive Secretary of the board, Dr. Claribel Abam made the disclosure at a workshop organised for lead health workers on HIV testing and counselling in Port Harcourt.
Dr. Abam said that the objective of the training was not only to raise awareness on the HIV scourge but also to teach stakeholders how best to counsel and offer good health education to people.
She enjoined the health personnel to ensure that they offer counselling and free testing to everybody that comes to access their health facilities, saying that “if everyone hears about HIV, we would not get to the level of AIDS”.
Dr. Abam advised them to put in place modalities that would help them put into practice the knowledge they acquired during the workshop to reduce the prevalence rate of the disease in the state.
The facilitator of the workshop and state co-ordinator of HIV/AIDS programme, Dr. Golden Owhonda, who gave an overview of the disease, also disclosed that recent statistics show that Rivers State ranks 10th in the country with a prevalence rate of 6.0 per cent (about 300, 000 people living with the virus) while Gokana Local Government Area has the highest rate in the state with 19.8 per cent.
Dr. Owhonda, who said that it is believed that Nigeria, with a prevalence rate of 4.0 per cent ranks 17th in the world, however, is next to South Africa in terms of burden, urging them to note that as health workers, they ought to offer appropriate counselling, shun stigmatisation and ensure that anyone who tests positive has access to free treatment therapy.
He took the health workers through various courses to improve their skills in handling HIV/AIDS couselling and health education techniques; overview/pathology and presentation of HIV/AIDS, overview of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), responsibility of local government HIV/AIDS desk officers, understanding the multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS as well as management structure of the health sector and co-ordinating institutions on HIV/AIDS, amongst others.