RSG Committed To Improve Lives Of PLWHIV

The Rivers State Government says it is committed to improving the quality of lives of people living with HIV/AIDS in the state.
Making this known yesterday, during the investiture of the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, as the “Surge Champion” for the epidemic control of the virus in the state, the governor said provision will be made to guaranty access to care.
The state government is indeed committed to improving the quality of lives for persons living with the virus by guaranteeing access to care and good quality health services comparable to international best standard”, the governor said.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, at the occasion, the governor said it was because of the commitment of the government to checking HIV/AIDS prevalence in the state that user-fees for PLWHIV was abolished.
This, he said, “is to enable unfettered access to patient-centred healthcare delivery services without stigma”.
While acknowledging the support of key stakeholders in HIV/AIDS response, the governor noted that his investiture as Surge Champion is a call for more work in HIV/AIDS response, calling on all to “remain patient and resolute in the pursuit of zero new infection to reach a future generation free of HIV/AIDS”.
In a post investiture interview, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN), Dr Patrick Dakum explained that as partners in HIV/AIDS response in Rivers State, their involvement in the state’s response was necessitated by the need to bridge the gap between HIV positive persons and those who access treatment.
According to him, “the reason we are here is that we have observed that with all the work that has been on-going, the gap between those who supposed to be positive and those who are on treatment is quite wide.
“It is close to about 180,000 people that need to be on treatment in Rivers State, but are yet not on treatment. Therefore, we have the responsibility to see how we are going to move forward”, he said.
To move forward, he explained, is to first identify and map the state, identify local governments according to the proportion of PLWHIV, and subsequently provide training, for various cadre of people involved in HIV/AIDS response.
Towards this end, he said, “we have recently gone to the communities on what we call the “community hot spot”.
The essence of the hot spot syndrome, he explained further is to identify areas that in which there is increase in PLWHIV, map out same according to proportion in order to decide which are as to take testing services to, and subsequently link them to treatment centres in the state.
The Governor’s Investiture, which took place at the St Andrews State School, Port Harcourt was part of activities marking the commemoration of the 2019 World AIDS Day which was observed last Sunday.

By: Sogbeba Dokubo