No fewer than 7,115 carriers of the Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are currently undergoing treatment in Osun State, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS [NACA] has said.
NACA’s Head of Government Resources Division, Cyril Ojeonu, revealed this when he led a delegation to the office of the Osun State’s Deputy Governor, Benedict Alabi, in Osogbo.
He disclosed that the current survey on the prevalence of HIV in Osun stands at 0.9 per cent, indicating a decline from 2.6 per cent in the past.
He revealed that about twenty-nine thousand people are believed to have been infected and needed to undergo HIV test for confirmation and sought government’s support to combat the disease and curtail its spread.
Ojeonu further said that about N186m was required to treat the suspected HIV patients at the rate of N6,100 per person and called for timely release of budgetary allocation to fund the control of the disease.
On his part, the deputy governor restated the Osun State Government’s commitment to an improved and affordable health care delivery for residents of the state.
Alabi assured that Oyetola administration would always mobilize funds within the limit of its resources to ensure that infection of HIV is brought possibly to zero per cent.
He said,
“We are assuring you that we will stop at nothing to ensure that HIV infection is brought down to the barest minimum in the state.
“The allocation that is appropriated to health will never be tampered with, although we know that we are struggling to provide funds but the fact is that whatever that is needed to be done to provide for the health care services, we shall do and we will not shy away from our responsibilities in the area of health and the well-being of our people.
“We always believe so much in advocacy on anything like epidemic disease outbreak as they say prevention is better than cure and I am happy we are giving emphasis on this aspect of health care.
“You can see the efforts that our government is making to ensure that our people live in healthy condition.
“I can boldly say that Osun is the only state in Nigeria where each ward has at least one primary health centre and each health centre is well equipped with modern medical facilities and we will continue to improve on our services in these areas.
“Our government believes so much in our health and the well being of our people generally and when the issue of Lassa fever outbreak came up, our government stood up to ensure that it was contained and we are happy to tell you that with few cases that we recorded in the state, no life was lost to it.”
