On Thursday, United States Consul General Will Stevens said the record revealed that 29,936 persons are living with HIV/AIDS in Osun state.
He, however, stressed that treatments are yet to commence with over 13,000 persons living with the dreaded disease in the state and called for a massive outreach to them.
The consul general made these known at the official launching of the Osun State HIV Treatment Surge organised by the Excellence Community Education Welfare Scheme (ECEWS) held at the State Secretariat in Osogbo.
According to him,” Since the record has shown the number of people living with HIV/ AID, there is need to conduct more HIV tests in the state to reach out to those who do not know their status yet, adding that the purpose of the surge launch is to reach out to more people and ensure that carriers of the virus commence treatment immediately.”
“We need a community of partnership. We need the government, police, civil societies, and implementing partners. We need more hands in America to work together. It is going to take that combined effort to reach our most vulnerable citizens. Write those people who have been cast aside, those people who are often ignored and downtrodden and work together to find them. “
“Make them feel safe, and make them feel like they can come and get tested, get treatment and spread the message that HIV is not a death sentence.”
“I want to talk to our nurses and doctors and I want to talk to everyone in the group, we all hopefully have paid attention to this to beat HIV AIDS. We need a community we need all that we need partnership. We need government. We need help with the police. We need civil society. We need implementing partners. We need to venture into America to work together. And it’s going to take that combined effort to reach our most vulnerable citizens.”
“Write those people who have been cast aside those people who are often ignored and downtrodden and work together to find them. Make them feel safe, and make them feel like they can come and get tested and get on treatment and spread the message that HIV is not a death sentence.”
In his own remark at the event, Head of Legal Service, ECWS Project Director of HIV treatment for Osun, Ekiti and Delta state, Dr Okezie Onyedinachi noted that only 16,000 have been put on treatment out of the over 29,000 persons living with HIV/AIDS.
Onyedinachi noted that all of them must be reached before 2025, saying, “we have to do things differently, entering into the communities and providing opportunities for people to know their HIV status and get treatment across Osun State.”
Also, the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke,reaffirmed his commitment to achieving high-quality health support for the people of the state.
Adeleke, represented by his deputy, Kola Adewusi who vowed to continue to make progress towards ending HIV/AIDS in the state, said that the project focuses on providing free HIV prevention and treatment services to thousands of people, including children, pregnant women, and the population of the state.
Adeleke said that thousands of people in the state have benefited from HIV testing and treatment services at no cost adding that his administration has made a giant effort to improve medical access to HIV patients.
He said, “As we all know, HIV remains a major public health challenge in Nigeria, and Osun state is not exempted from this reality. However, I am pleased to report that we have made significant strides in improving access to HIV testing and treatment services,
“Through the ECEWS SPEED project, which is funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we have been able to scale up HIV testing and treatment services across the state, with a focus on equity, strengthening existing systems, building capacity, and promoting stakeholder involvement at all levels.”
” The project focuses on providing free HIV prevention and treatment services to thousands of people, including children, pregnant women, and key populations.”
“To date, thousands of people in Osun state have benefited from HIV testing and treatment services at no cost, and we have seen a leap in treatment coverage by 12% in the first 5 months of active surge implementation. This means that more people living with HIV can access the lifesaving antiretroviral drugs, prophylaxis, and other essential services they need to stay healthy and thrive.”
“In addition, we have made progress in reducing new HIV infections, particularly among adolescent girls and young women, who are three times more likely to be infected with HIV than their male counterparts. We know that the driving factor is inequality, and so we are working to combine services for sexual and reproductive health with services for preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence and HIV, to design interventions that work for all women and girls, in all their diverse”.
“Ensuring all pregnant women have access to HIV testing services and treatment as needed will keep us in focus on an HIV-free generation. I implore all Osun indigenes and dwellers to ensure they know their status and adopt healthy lifestyles.”
” I want to reaffirm our commitment to achieving an HIV-free society in Osun state. We have come a long way, but we know much work still needs to be done. Together, we can and will continue to make progress toward our goal of ending HIV/AIDS in our state and Nigeria as a whole.”
In her own remark, the Osun State Coordinator of Network of People living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN), Roseline Awoyemi said,the community testers have been going to core places in the state to reach more people for tests and treatment.
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