Sokoto State Coordinator of AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infection and Viral Hypertisis Control Programme, SASCP, Dr Wadata Hali, has said no fewer than 15,042 persons are currently on HIV/AIDS treatment in the state.
Wadata, who disclosed at an event organised by the Sokoto state Ministry of Health in collaboration with the State Agency For The Control of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, SOSACAT, to commemorate the 2024 World AIDS Day, added that a survey conducted by NAIIS in 2018 put the state HIV prevalence level at 0.4%.
Speaking after a road walk and enlightenment campaign from Sokoto Specialists Hospital to the Giginya Secretariat, the host of the 2024 World AIDS Day and Special Adviser to Sokoto State governor on State Agency For the Control Of AIDs and Tuberculosis, SOSACAT, Sada Ibrahim Durbawa, said “World AIDS day is a commemoration that allows all of us to come together and honour those who have lost their lives and in solidarity with those who have been infected and affected by the situation.”
Declaring the event open, the state Commissioner for Health Hajiya Balarabe Asabe, represented by the Special Adviser, Sokoto State Malaria Elimination Agency, SOSMEA, Dr Mohammed Namadina Ibrahim, said despite the HIV/AIDS drugs being free, emphasis should be on prevention.
“Educate people on how to take care of themselves and avoid infection. And the good news now is that HIV/AIDS injection that will be taken once a month might be put to use next year.“
State Coordinator of the Network of People Living With HIV/AIDs in Nigeria, NEPWHAN, Comrade Hussani Mohammed Gwadabawa, appreciated the Sokoto state government as well as the respective partners for all their support to them.
The Executive Secretary of Sokoto State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Larai Aliyu Tambuwal, said HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence.