Samuel Oyadongha
1 April 2008
Lagos — Chairman of the Bayelsa State Action Committee on Aids in Bayelsa State, Dr. Temple Iluma has advocated the establishment of a Niger Delta HIV/AIDS Management Institute.
Dr Iluma in an interview in Yenagoa noted that such an institute would go a long way in combating the spread of the disease not only in Bayelsa but the entire South-South region where majority of the people are poor.
Lamenting what he described as the lack of sustainable HIV/AIDS management and training in Nigeria, the Atlanta Georgia trained medical practitioner noted that the strength of the HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in the South-South region cannot be compared to the West where there is high awareness of the dreaded virus hence the need for the establishment of the centre in the state being the heart of the region.
"The prevalence and strength of HIV/AIDS in the South-South region cannot be compared to any other region in Nigeria despite the fact the region has a low rate, so while we are talking about the economy, poverty and unemployment, the issue of HIV/AIDS goes hand in hand with these problems and the people of the South-South are poor and poor children are vulnerable to the virus.
Hence I want an academy that will serve the entire Niger Delta and not just Bayelsa State ," he said.
On why he supports the establishment of the institute, he said, "there is lack of sustainable HIV/AIDS management and training in Nigeria and the idea is that in the South-South, the strength of the disease awareness campaign is not the same with what is obtainable in the West because there is more awareness in the area and the worst of it all is that poverty is one of the problems that has increased the rate of HIV/AIDS cases in the South-South.
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