Rivers
‘PMTCT Ownership, Key to Ensuring General Access’ … Need for Reliable Documentation
The Programme Manager, Rivers State Agency for the Control of AIDS (RIVSACA), Dr Naaziga Francis, has stated that ownership of the PMTCT processes is a major means of checking the spread of HIV in the society.
Dr Francis, who spoke recently, shortly after a PMTCT Focal Persons meeting organised by the state AIDs and STIs control programme (SASCP), stated that ownership of the PMTCT process by all stakeholders will ensure, for instance, that follow-ups are made to all, or most, HIV positive pregnant women and their children.
Ownership of the process, he explained, means that all processes put in place “to make it easier for both identified HIV pregnant women and their children access necessary health care should be closely followed to ensure that they succeed”.
Such processes, he said, include knowing the number of positive women and children.
“If you know the number of (HIV positive) women and children, you have to follow them up since you know them by name and in person.
“If you do a proper follow-up, you can also project their date of delivery, and subsequently call them to find out if they actually come to deliver in he facility, or go somewhere else. You can then know what to do either case”, he said.
He further stated that another process is proper documentation of the data of HIV positive women and their children.
Noting that lack of proper and reliable documentation of HIV positive women and their children is a major challenge, which, he said, can only be overcomed if it is diligently done from the point of diagnosis, and followed up accordingly from stage of stage..
On his part, the Coordinator of ARV Services at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH), Dr Alali Dan-Jumbo, said beyond documentation being done at various stages, there is also the need to motivate the PMTCT Focal persons at various levels.
“It is a well known fact that anything not documented, even if you have done it, will look as if it has not been done.
“We need to motivate the focal persons at various levels: whether it is in PMTCT, or Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E). The main challenge, I think, is at the point of reporting what you’re doing.
“This is because, most times, some persons will see writing these reports as extra work, and may not do it diligently. When his happens, it affects reliable documentation”, he. said
In her presentation on the PMTCT situation in Rivers State, the PMTCT Focal person, SASCP, Mrs Agnes Dum-Igoni, stated that PMTCT has recorded poor performance due to low Antenatal Care (ANC) service uptake, and sub-optimal ART coverage among identified positive pregnant women.
Others, according to her, are low rates of facility deliveries, low uptake of early infant diagnosis services and low reporting of services rendered especially from some health facilities providing PMTCT and unskilled providers.
She, however, noted that if all hands are on deck, most of these issues identified will a thing of the past.
By: Sogbeba Dokubo
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament says it will adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance informed deliberation, optimised legislation, and strengthen parliamentary oversight.
The regional bloc made the remark recently at the Second 2025 Extraordinary Session which held in Port Harcourt.
The theme of the session was, “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Parliamentary Efficiency, Ethical Governance and Development in the ECOWAS Region.”
Fourth Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Mr Billay Tunkara, while closing the session on AI efficiency, said lawmakers would deploy appropriate tools to strengthen internal regulations.
He said the AI revolution was irreversible and had become a paradigm shift, redefining the region’s economies, societies and governance.
According to him, AI had moved from the realm of science fiction to a powerful global force driving major advances across sectors.
“Therefore, the use of AI in the ECOWQS Parliament will result to informed deliberation, optimised legislation and strengthened oversight.
“It offers us the means to make our work more efficient, transparent and closer to citizens’ expectations.
“So, it is up to us, parliamentarians to appropriate these tools, to train our collaborators and to adapt our internal regulations to accommodate this new intelligence”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom in Rivers State, HRM King Ateke Tom, has pledged support for government efforts to sustain peace in the Niger Delta.
He gave the assurance when he received a delegation of the ECOWAS Parliament, led by its Speaker, Mrs. Hadja Ibrahima, at his palace in Okochiri, Okrika Local Government Area.
Tom, a former Niger Delta agitator, said he once took up arms to draw government’s attention to the plight of people in the oil-rich region.
“The agitation brought the Federal Government’s focus to our challenges.
“It was the agitation that created the opportunity for our people to be remembered, and for Goodluck Jonathan to become President”, he said.
He stated the struggle highlighted environmental degradation, poverty, and hardship endured by the Niger Delta people despite oil profits from the land.
The traditional ruler added that he later played a key role in disarming agitators and facilitating peace in the region.
“Today, the benefit of that peace is becoming evident”, he noted.
Tom urged the ECOWAS Parliament to use its platform to advocate for the development of the Niger Delta region.
The President-Genera (PG)l of Ogoni Youth Federation, Mr. Legborsi Yamaabana, has praised President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the effort to resolve the dispute that stalled oil exploration and production in Ogoni land.
The Tide’s source recalls that oil exploration and production were suspended in Ogoniland in the early 1990s with Shell forced out by 1993 due to persistent unrest by the locals’ spear-headed by the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP).
The source further notes that the dispute involved the Federal Government, oil multinationals and Ogoni people.
Yamaabana in a statement issued to journalists by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Hycienth Ana, in Port Harcourt, said Tinubu’s government had been able to resolve the dispute.
He described the ongoing peace process as sincere, timely, and commendable.
Yamaabana noted that the resolutions reached hold great promise for addressing the longstanding challenges of poverty and unemployment in Ogoniland.
The PG, a former Federal House of Representatives aspirant for Khana/Gokana Federal Constituency, used the medium to commend Tinubu for the national honours to the “Ogoni four.”
“President Tinubu’s extension of recognition to these Ogoni thirteen is a long-awaited gesture of justice and inclusivity”, he said.
He further applauded the President for bestowing a national honour on renowned Ogoni rights activist, Mr. Ledum Mitee, describing the recognition as a befitting tribute to his contributions to the struggle for justice and equity.
Yamaabana said resuming oil operations in Ogoniland with fairness and environmental responsibility would be a landmark achievement for Tinubu’s government in Nigeria’s socio-economic history.
He also commended the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, Rivers Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and the Ogoni Dialogue Committee led by Prof. Don Baridam, for their roles in facilitating the dialogue.
The Ogoni youth leader reaffirmed commitment to supporting the federal government’s initiatives for economic growth and sustainable development in the area.
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE) Rumuolumeni, Rivers State, has been declared the state winner of the ongoing National Campus Debate 2025.
Following this victory, IAUE will represent Rivers State at the zonal face-to-face debate competition, scheduled to take place from September 15 to 22, 2025.
The Director General of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa Onilu, congratulated IAUE on its achievement and wished the university continued brilliance in the next phase of the competition.
A statement from the institution’s Public Relations Office said the debate competition, which focuses on the topic “Unity in Diversity: Designing National Identity in Nigeria’s Multicultural Society”, aims to strengthen youth engagement, promote education, and foster national values and dialogue among students.
The competition offers significant rewards, with the national winner set to receive ?50 million, while the first and second runners-up will take home ?30 million and ?20 million respectively.
According to the statement, the Dean, Faculty of Humanities, Professor Ibiere Ken-Maduako, and the Coordinator of IAUE Debate Council, who is also the Director, Ideas, Creativity, and Innovation, Professor Samuel Amaele, trained the team that made the University proud.
It furrher stated that the university’s achievement reflects its commitment to intellectual excellence, civic engagement, and nation-building.
By: Sogbeba Dokubo
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