At least, 32 local councils in the country are to receive a mobile clinic for testing and treatment of HIV, courtesy the United States government.

 

Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria, (a US programme in the country) Dr. Patrick Dakum, disclosed this to journalists recently in Abuja at the presentation of the mobile medical vehicle to Bwari Area Council.

 

The clinic contains laboratory and other clinical facilities for testing and treatment of the disease.

 

Although National Mirror could not obtain the list of the remaining local councils, Dakum however said the criterion for choosing the benefiting councils was high prevalence of the disease within the LGAs across the nation.

 

Rivers, Taraba, Kaduna, Nasarawa and FCT are current states with highest prevalence rate with HIV in the country, according to the National Agency for the Control of AIDs, NACA.

 

 

Dakun said: “We have worked in Nigeria in partnership with Nigeria at federal, states, and local councils, principally for the purpose of mitigating the effects of HIV/AIDS for prevention, care and treatment. And, we have worked at Bwari council. Part of our work is how prevention of mother-to-child transmission will not take place by identifying HIV-pregnant women and placing them on treatment so that the children will not get the virus. That has shown to us that one, there are HIV positive people in the community and the prevalence of 6,7% in the FCT also tells us that the burden of the disease is high.

 

“Now, with the increased support of the US government to focus on 32 local governments, Bwari area council is one of them and the Institute of Human Virology is the implementing partner here. It is very clear to us that for us to really get a hand on the virus; we must go to wherever we can find the virus in people.”

 

Similarly, a medical epidemiologist from the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, whose agency is a partner in the gesture, Dr. Ted Ellerbrock, said at the event: “Recently, we are finding out in certain areas overseen by the council. We really need to move the mobile clinic to areas where there is no clinic, so that people can be tested and people start being treated if they are positive, and then follow carefully with our laboratory testing with our mobile clinic.”

 

He explained that many people could not come to the local council or health facilities to get tested for the disease, and that with the mobile clinic, such people would be reached in their communities for testing and treatment.

 

“This shows why it is important for all of us to reach epidemic control for HIV epidemic and it is very important that we have people who can help us to work so that we can really serve the people.

 

“US government has been working in Nigeria to fight the epidemic through the Federal Ministry of Health, through the state government and through the local LGAs since 2003. We provide both funding and other supports. We are currently supporting over a half a million people on AIDS treatment nationwide.

 

By: CHIDI UGWU

National Mirror