In the states of Abia, Enugu, and Imo, a non-governmental organization called Caritas Nigeria has vowed to stop the epidemic spread of the human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
Rev. Fr. Uchechukwu Obodoechina, the organization’s executive secretary/chief executive officer, made this announcement at the official launch of the Accelerated Control of HIV, epidemic and sustainable solution project (Access project) in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State.
He clarified that the Access project aims to reach every HIV-positive person with the sole purpose of providing them with a free diagnosis and course of treatment.
Obodoechina went on to say that his group is under the authority of the American Center for Disease
Control and prevention initiatives to be implemented over a five-year period in the states under consideration.
He stated, “We are in Abia working with the state and other sectors to see how we could collaborate with them in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We have a grant from the American government and its people to obtain services in Abia State and other parts of South East Nigeria.”
“Because it is the duty of the federal government of Nigeria and the state of Abia to ensure the wellbeing of their citizens, they should also take action. That is what government is all about.
“The purpose of government is to do While some states in the South East had managed to control the HIV epidemic, he insisted that Abia State was still lagging behind due to some historical factors.
He stated, “Abia is still one of the states with the highest number of HIV-positive individuals living without access to treatment. We have the responsibility to locate as many individuals as we can and start them on anti-retroviral therapy.
The paediatric and adult population in a particular area of the states with difficult-to-reach areas in the Abia North Senatorial district is one important population that suffered severely from this.
“We are attempting to reach out to them and put them on treatment so that they can lead normal lives using a variety of strategies. Additionally, this project will stop HIV from spreading to new people.
“At the moment, many of Nigeria’s states have succeeded in controlling and treating epidemics, but Abia State has not.
or the things that people are unable to do for themselves. The social contract’s tenets are those.
Dr. Amana Effiong, the project director in Abia State, stated that the project specifically targets HIV/AIDS patients in some areas of the state who were not reached by the organization’s previous effort known as the 4GATES project.
“Caritas Nigeria has been given the responsibility of seeing to it that the state reaches treatment saturation. There is still much work to be done despite the fact that we have been working here for a year and a half.
The stigma against people living with HIV/ADIS was the only difficulty the organization encountered in its prior projects in the state, according to Dr. John Okpanachi Oko, the party’s chief of projects at Access.
“What we are doing is officially launching the new HIV prevention project, which will begin in Abia State,” he said.
“Abia, Enugu, and Imo states will implement a five-year grant from the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This project covers all aspects of HIV prevention and care.
