Sola Ogundipe
18 November 2008
A call has gone to the Lagos State government to wade into the discriminatory admission charges at its public health institutions, even as Federal government is urged to strengthen the health sector in the interest of the generality of Nigerians.
Making the call in Lagos during a media chat, Coordinator Lagos State branch of the Network of People Living With HIV & AIDS in Nigera (NEPWHAN), Mr Ibrahim Umoru said the existence of discriminatory admission rates was capable of overturning the gains so far made towards mitigating the impact of the HIV & AIDS epidemic in the country.
His words: "There is disparity between the admission fees between HIV positive persons and persons who are not HIV positive. This is stigmatisation. Discrimination is an issue, we have seen that there is disparity in admission fees.
Why should someone be asked to pay more because he or she is HIV positive? It is the peak of discrimination. But wether we like to admit or not, HIV has changed our medical practice. It has taught us the culture of adherence."
Further, Umoru noted that the dire shortage of HIV & AIDS peer counselors was inimical to the State's HIV treatment programme. "I know for certain that in all General Hospitals in Lagos State, there has not been any employment of a peer counselor as required by the World Health Organisation recommendations.
This is not a good development for our HIV care & support initiative.
"When implementing partners come, they do so with best practices, but when they go, their good practices go with them. Let us start to solve these problems today. We are endearing the Lagos State government to carry on with the good practices they started with.
Umoru said there are two tertiary sites at the Lagos University teaching Hospita (LUTH) and the Nigeria Institute of Medical research (NIMR) both supported by APIN/PEPFAR.
"These have more robust health services, but there are differentials, even in LUTH there is a deficiency of peer counselors employed in the system, but there are trained counselors at NIMR and UBTH." He said HOPE Worldwide Nigeria was in partnership with MSF, but when MSF left, they have a new partnership with GHAIN.
"This is how it should be. There is no way we can dodge best practices. If we do, there is danger. If we close our eyes to this development we are heading for doom.
He said Lagos is blessed with an army of counselors and if government would allow, NEPWHAN is ready to provide more than enough. " It has been acknowledged worldwide that a PLWH should be a counselor. MSF started this in this country and it worked wonders. Sadly, our health structures have not made provision for making the appropriate treatment and care services available."
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