Nation
UNFPA Advises Against Stigmatising People Living With HIV
Assistant Reps, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr Omolaso Omosehin, says the issue of stigmatisation of people living with HIV and COVID-19 is a major concern to the fund.
Omosehin, also the Head, Lagos Liaison office of UNFPA, said the fund had integrated messages against stigma into its awareness campaign.
In an interview with The Tide source in Lagos, he urged the public to shun stigmatisation, show kindness and support people that are sick.
“In the case of HIV, the stigma has reduced; in any case, you are not required to disclose your status, except you want to, and that has helped to remove the stigma.
“Someone may have HIV, and you may never know, because he is taking his drugs.
“The message and awareness about HIV is there, that if you shake hands, hug or even kiss someone with HIV, you won’t get the infection, that has helped to reduce the stigma.
“Unlike COVID-19, if someone coughs near you or shows other symptoms of the virus, you will pull back, mask up, even advise the person to keep a distance,” he said.
On whether the threat of COVID-19 was bigger than HIV, Omosehin said everyone was susceptible to COVID-19 infection, adding that adequate preventive measures was critical to reducing one’s risk of infection.
He said: “COVID-19 comes suddenly, and may have a fatal outcome, unlike HIV/AIDS. At the onset of HIV/AIDS, it was a fatalistic infection, because lots of people died.
“Now, HIV is no longer a death sentence. We don’t expect anyone to die of HIV, except they are not diagnosed on time.
“If you are diagnosed, and you have HIV, you can receive treatment and live a normal life.”
According to him, though, HIV is a life-time scourge, because a carrier never really gets cured, COVID-19 is not a life-time disease, except now that it has become a pandemic.
He said the nature of the virus kept changing, adding that no one knows when the virus would end, except a vaccine comes.
Omosehin advised Nigerians to embrace precautionary measures against COVID-19 pandemic, saying “the present strain is more virulent than before’’.
He said that ages of those who developed complications after contracting the virus had dropped from the elderly to the middle age.
“Let nobody live under the impression that COVID-19 is gone; in fact, the virus we have now is more virulent than the virus we had before.
“We need to continue to observe social distancing, masking up, and regular washing of hands.
“There are many things that can retain the virus for a period of time; so, don’t live under the impression that your hands are clean.
“Restrict your visit to only places that are important to reduce your chances of catching the virus,” he said.
On Nigerians’ attitude to COVID-19, Omosehin said some people believed that COVID-19 doesn’t exist, while some propounded theories about the virus, which affects their perception and reactions to the virus.
“We have that false information that is causing confusion,” he said.
The UNFPA head in Lagos said lifting of the lockdown gave some people a false confidence that the pandemic was over.
He said that it was far from being over with a second wave of COVID-19 infection currently affecting some countries.
Nation
Gombe Opens Bid For Construction Of Three-Arm Zone Project
Gombe State Ministry of Works, Housing and Transportation has opened bids for the construction of three arms zone complexes within the Gombe Capital Special Development Zone which held at the Ministry’s conference hall.
Speaking while presiding over the bid opening proceedings, the Commissioner, Engr. . Usman Maijama’a Kallamu assured the bidders that the bid opening would be carried out using procurement process which is based on specific regulations that are credible, fair, and transparent.
The Commissioner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alh. Idris Yambiu Buba said that the Ministry will continue to align itself for optimal results in the implementation of government policies and projects in line with Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya’s commitment to bringing development to the State.
While assuring the bidders of a transparent process, the SSA to the Governor on Special Project, Arch. Yakubu Mamman thanked Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya for his foresight in infrastructural development of the State, adding that government is committed to ensuring that all bidders had an equal chance to participate and compete based on merit to maintain standards and specifications.
Nation
Gov Mbah Signs Bill To Establish Teaching Hospital In Enugu
Governor of Enugu State, Dr Peter Mbah, yesterday, signed the Enugu State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) Teaching Hospital Bill 2024 into Law, promising to expedite action to actualise the teaching hospital immediately to provide quality training and healthcare services in the Enugu North part of the State and the State in general.
Mbah, while commending the Enugu State House of Assembly for accelerating action on the processing and passage of the Executive Bill, said that establishing SUMAS Teaching Hospital was in line with his manifesto.
He said, “What we have done by signing into law the Enugu State University of Medical and Applied Sciences Teaching Hospital Bill is that we now have in place a legal framework to immediately begin to put in place all that is required to upgrade SUMAS to a teaching hospital. This is part of our campaign promises and we are committed to delivering on that expeditiously.
“We believe that the importance and significance of siting a teaching hospital in our Enugu North zone can never be lost on us. So, we are not going to spend any time in making sure that everything that is necessary and required to upgrade and get the teaching hospital operational is put in place. With this Law, we are going to redouble our commitment and our efforts to achieve that.”
He assured the Governing Council and the Management of SUMAS of his continued support, adding that his administration would equally be counting on their pedigree and contacts to bring the teaching hospital to fruition in record time.
“We are going to continue to support you and we are also going to continue to count on your experience, network, and profile in raising resources to actualize the project.
“This year alone, we are going to spend 33 per cent of our budget on education. This underscores the importance of education to this administration. So, be sure to come to us whenever there is a need. We are going to support you because we are interested in education and we are investing heavily in it,” he said.
On his part, the Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu, who also spoke at the Bill signing witnessed by the Chairman of SUMAS Governing Council, Msgr. Obiora Ike, and the Vice Chancellor, Prof. James Ogbonna, and top hierarchies of the institution, commended Governor Mbah’s speed and faithfulness in delivering on his campaign promises. He assured that the House of Assembly was ever ready to fast-track every executive bill that would impact positively on the state and its people.
“We promised we are going to support this administration by doing our job expeditiously to ensure that there is no delay in your delivery of democracy dividends to our people. Therefore, the SUMAS Teaching Hospital Bill received expedited hearing and today you have the signing of the bill into law,” he stated.
Nation
Ododo Applauds Security Agencies Over Rescue Of 43 Bus Passengers
Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo has applauded security agencies in the State for their efforts in the rescue of 43 bus passengers.
The Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Ismaila Isah disclosed this in a statement yesterday.
The statement noted that the governor welcomed the news of the release of the abducted bus passengers in Okehi Local Government Area of the State and called for sustained collaboration between security agencies and local communities to improve intelligence gathering and prevent crime and criminality in all parts of the state.
Ododo commended the caretaker chairman of Okehi LGA, Mr Amoka Eneji, the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Professional Hunters, Ebira Local Hunters Group and other security agencies for their intervention, which led to the rescue of the passengers who were abducted outside the state.
“Governor Ododo also commends the response of security agencies to the robbery incidence in Felele area of Lokoja and called for more urgency in addressing cases of insecurity in any part of the state.
“The Governor reassured the people of the state that his administration will not relent in its efforts in deploying maximum resources to ensure that all communities in the state remain unsafe for criminal elements.”
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