Jimitota Onoyume
1 December 2008
RIVERS State Government has earmarked N350 million this year to fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS in the state.
The State Commissioner for Health, Mr. Sampson Parker, made the disclosure weekend in Port Harcourt after a session with secondary school students as part of events marking the December 1, 2008, World AIDS Day celebration in the state.
Dr. Parker who said the World AIDS Day focuses on prevention, noted that the secondary school students are engaged in the campaign to prevent AIDS because they form the vulnerable group, emphasising that a lot of teaching has been carried out in the schools in the state.
He explained that the state government supports legislation for people not to discriminate against HIV/AIDS patients, stressing that the number of screening centres has increased and advised residents of the state to ascertain their HIV/AIDS status.
According to the commissioner, despite efforts concentrated in the state capital, plans have been concluded for the grassroot campaign of the AIDS awareness and enlightenment programme to commence at all the local government areas of the state.
Parker said the shift to the local government was based on result of a research which showed that the prevalence rate in the rural communities were on the increase and thanked Governor Chibuike Amaechi for addressing the security situation that would have prevented health personnels from accessing the rural communities.
Earlier, at the interactive session, the Director incharge of HIV/AIDS in the Ministry of Health Dr. Chimezie Okey, urged the students to be vanguard for the campaign against HIV/AIDS while enjoining them to abstain from pre-marital sex.
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